Chapter 1172: I've Come to Marry You

Seeing the direction the boy was pointing, Sun Bumian, under the lion dance head, also suddenly froze...

Amidst the lively gongs and drums, Sun Bumian quickly regained his composure and nimbly cleared the way toward that direction along the road. The colorful pupils on the head blinked constantly, still full of liveliness and joy...

But no one saw that Sun Bumian’s hands under the head had gripped tightly without him realizing it.

Chen Ling seemed to realize something and turned to look at the vehicle beside him.

In the back seat of the Audi with its hazard lights flashing, Brother Pao, wearing a red flower on his chest, saw the pale high-rise building getting closer and closer, his palms sweating with nervousness...

Firecrackers, gongs and drums, lion dance—before this massive procession even reached the hospital, it had already made many people look out from their windows. Especially in the inpatient department, figures in hospital gowns poked their heads out, seemingly discussing something eagerly with those around them.

After entering the hospital gate, Sun Bumian turned off the noisy gong and drum music, and everyone took down the firecrackers to avoid disturbing the patients in the hospital...

Finally, the Audi with its hazard lights flashing, surrounded by the boys in suits, slowly stopped in front of the hospital.

In the silence,

Brother Pao’s sweaty palms opened the car door.

He had his hair combed meticulously, wore a bright red flower on his suit, and stood tall like a young general facing a storm. Under the gaze of everyone, he took a deep breath...

"Xiaoyu! I've come to marry you!!!"

The boy’s neck turned red, and the sound he shouted with all his might echoed through the hospital buildings.

The whispering of the many people watching from the windows became even more intense, and people even started gathering at the hospital entrance.

Facing the pointing and whispering of the crowd, Brother Pao acted as if he didn't see them... At this age, where he was in puberty and self-esteem was more important than life, he stood in the public eye, his sweaty hands clenched into fists, closed his eyes, and repeated his shout over and over again:

"Xiaoyu!! I've come to marry you!!!"

"Xiaoyu!!! I've come to marry you!!!!"

“……”

The figure of the boy shouting frantically was reflected in Chen Ling’s pale red pupils. He stared at this scene blankly. For some reason, his heart, which had been as calm as water, seemed to be stirred by those shouts, rippling...

Chen Ling hadn't had this feeling for a long time.

Brother Pao’s shouting continued.

His voice grew hoarse from the constant repetition, but he had no intention of stopping. The other boys’ eyes were a bit red; they were also clenching their fists nervously, as if waiting for something.

Just as many security guards arrived at the sound, preparing to drive everyone away, a figure in a wheelchair was slowly pushed out from inside the hospital.

It was a bald girl.

She was wearing a pale hospital gown, her face devoid of any color, her figure withered and shocking... She stared blankly at everything at the hospital entrance, two lines of tears falling uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes, her whole body trembling visibly.

The moment he saw the girl, Chen Ling’s heart tightened.

Eighteen or nineteen, the age when a girl loves beauty, yet not a single strand of hair remained on her head... Only chemotherapy could torture a person like this.

"Is she... the bride you came to pick up?" Chen Ling looked at the boy beside him.

"Yes!" The boy pressed his lips tightly, his eyes already red. "In high school, we were all in the same class, and Brother Pao was with Sister Yu back then... They had planned to get into the same university and get married there. But when they were moving from the second year to the third year of high school, Sister Yu was suddenly diagnosed with cancer and dropped out to get treatment.

Brother Pao was frantic at the time, but we were just high school students, and no matter how anxious we were, it was useless. He messaged Sister Yu every day, and she told him she was almost cured, that she would take the college entrance exam in her hometown, and that they could meet again in university after the summer break when she was better.

After Brother Pao happily finished his exams, he found he couldn't contact Sister Yu, so he frantically asked around for news. That’s when he learned that Sister Yu’s family had spent all their savings to treat her, but it still hadn't worked, and they had to use connections to transfer her to the hospital here in Wushan... They said it was for continued treatment, but in reality, there was no chance left."

The boy paused for a moment, his voice choking.

"Later, Brother Pao insisted on coming to find her, saying he had promised to marry her... You tell me, as his brothers, could we just ignore that?

Anyway, we had all finished our exams, so we brothers hid it from our families, each took out a thousand-yuan loan online, pooled the money together, and stood on a green-skin train for a day and a night to come to Wushan to pick up the bride... We all agreed before coming that no matter the outcome, we absolutely wouldn't regret it."

Chen Ling stood there silently, his gaze toward the girl in the wheelchair incredibly complex.

Seeing the girl come out, Brother Pao’s eyes suddenly brightened. He moved his legs, which were stiff from nervousness, and walked toward the girl... He had thought he could kneel on one knee like he imagined and say the lines he had prepared...

But when he got close and saw the face of the lover he had been dreaming of, all his preparations seemed clumsy and pale.

He opened his mouth and said the same thing again:

"Xiaoyu... I've come to marry you."

The tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes poured out uncontrollably. She clenched her small fists and hammered them on Brother Pao’s chest, one after another, shouting with a crying voice:

"What are you doing! I already convinced myself to forget you! I already deleted you! Why did you run all this way here..."

"I said I would marry you."

Brother Pao let the girl’s soft fists fall on his chest, a smile as bright as the red flower on his chest appearing on his face... He solemnly took a box out of his pants pocket and opened it gently.

Inside was a small, exquisite ring.

Seeing this ring, the girl pressed her lips tightly. She struggled for a long time, not taking it, but choking out:

"Do you know that I'm about to die..."

"You won't die." Seeing this, Brother Pao took the ring out himself and gently put it on the girl’s slender finger. "I met a lion dance brother today and gave him the small gold my mom gave me... He said we would grow old together."

The girl stared blankly at the shining ring on her hand and the boy’s earnest face, and she couldn't hold it back anymore. She wailed and cried, hammering his chest with her ring-wearing hand,

"Are you stupid, stupid, stupid!! You believe the auspicious words of a liar...

It’s because you’re so easy to fool that I managed to trick you into being with me, you know? Now it’s too late! You can’t run away... If I die, I won't let you go even as a ghost!"