Give Me Another Smile

nvelope and got ready to leave the ward.
But just as she was about to step out of the room, she suddenly thought of something as she backtracked her steps and handed an item to Tang Yu, saying, “This is An-An's phone.
It's still usable, so I'll leave it with you.”

The smartphone with a shattered corner looked quite pitiful, but its cold outer shell quickly warmed up once it entered Tang Yu's hand.

When the door closed, the ward became eerily quiet.
Apart from the rhythmic “beep” coming from the electrocardiogram, no other sound could be heard in the ward.

Seeing as there were no other conscious people in the room, Tang Yu decided to unlock Yin Zhao-an's phone to see if there were any entertainment applications.
However, she found nothing of the sort.
Even on the home page, she only saw the standard Contacts and Sticky Note applications decorating the bottom of the screen.

Out of curiosity, Tang Yu clicked on the Sticky Note app.
There were only two entries in the app, one of which was an ordinary memo meant for keeping track of daily activities and responsibilities, while the other was…

Tang Yu narrowed her eyes, feeling somewhat confused by the second entry's content.

[A child will envy what others have that they don't.
However, once they have it as well, they won't feel saddened even if they lose it.]

When you're just trying to make great content at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t.

Tang Yu thought these were the only lines in the note.
However, when she noticed the scroll bar on the side, she scrolled down and past a bunch of empty spaces before arriving at the bottom and finding another two lines.

[What I envy, I will do my best to obtain.
Once I obtain it, I will crush it and hide it in my heart.]

The sentences were childish, so Tang Yu didn't take them too seriously.
Putting the phone aside, she resumed her major undertaking of providing warmth to Yin Zhao-an's hand.
While gently rubbing the withered hand, she started to mumble to herself quietly.

“There's no meat on your hand… It feels awful to the touch…

“It's kind of uncomfortable talking to someone who won't respond…

“I can get discharged from the hospital soon.”

After saying so, Tang Yu stopped her hands.
Then, she earnestly looked at the blank eyes before her and continued, “I have to go back to class first, so I don't think I can start school with you.”

When Tang Yu received the expected silence, she wryly smiled and lowered her head.
“At first, I planned to go through university alone, and after graduating, I would find a job far away from here.
I would be by myself, and I wouldn't have to care about any future developments here.

“You all can make as much trouble as you like and be with whomever you like.
I wouldn't need to have anything to do with any of you.”

Wiping her tears away, Tang Yu said with a reddened nose, “But I don't want to owe you anything.

“So, I won't leave…” Tang Yu's eyes became blurred by tears, and the tone of her voice sank.
“I won't leave, but I want to live.
So, if you meet your fated person, I will walk away without hesitation…
I won't foolishly stick around anymore.”

Suddenly, Tang Yu felt something rough touching her face and gently wiping her tears away.
Raising her head in disbelief, she saw Yin Zhao-an looking at her with eyes full of clarity.

Tang Yu didn't know if Yin Zhao-an was truly sober.
She also didn't know if Yin Zhao-an had heard the nonsense she said just now.
For a time, feelings of joy and worry filled her heart.

Subsequently, in a hoarse and feeble voice, Yin Zhao-an said, “…Don't cry.”