I Heard You're Hard To Chase - Chapter 18

Xie Huai sat there, looking at the medical test report in his hands motionlessly.

How could this be…

He had only experienced occasional joint pain, and it was just a sprained ankle. How could it possibly be advanced-stage bone cancer?

Xie Huai’s hands trembled slightly as he looked up and asked the doctor with a forced smile, “Are you joking with me?”

The doctor was momentarily unsure of how to respond to this seventeen-year-old, and his eyes were slightly red when he lowered his head.

“No,” a few seconds later, the doctor exhaled and looked at Xie Huai, saying, “We… We are very meticulous with our reports, and they undergo multiple checks. We do not make mistakes, or rather, we have never made any mistakes, nor do we make jokes with patients.”

The doctor’s words dispelled all of Xie Huai’s unrealistic thoughts.

In this moment, Xie Huai felt relieved that Jiang Xu hadn’t come with him today.

Jiang Xu wouldn’t be able to handle this, and he didn’t want to see Jiang Xu upset.

It took Xie Huai only a few minutes to come to terms with the fact that he had advanced-stage bone cancer. Suppressing his emotions, he picked up his phone and calmly said to the doctor, “I need to make a phone call.”

After saying that, Xie Huai opened the door and walked out.

There were many people in the corridor of the hospital. Xie Huai passed by the emergency room and intensive care unit and saw family members kneeling outside the emergency room door, crying and praying, and relatives outside the intensive care unit crying heartbrokenly.

They all hoped that the person inside could be saved and continue to live.

Xie Huai reached the farthest window, pushed it open, and felt the slightly warm breeze on his face.

He opened his phone’s contacts, and the first recent call was from Jiang Xu, followed by Ms. Zhao Li, and then his father.

The moment he saw their names, Xie Huai couldn’t help but shed tears.

He clicked on the call with Ms. Zhao Li, gritted his teeth, and dialed.

The call was quickly connected. When Zhao Li saw that it was Xie Huai who was calling, she immediately smiled: “Huaihuai, what are you doing? Is the injury on your foot feeling better?”

Xie Huai raised his head to prevent more tears from flowing out. He said: “Yeah, much better.”

Zhao Li was stunned and quickly asked: “Huaihuai, what’s wrong with you? Are you crying?”

“Mom…” Xie Huai called Zhao Li, his voice a little hoarse, “I’m sick. It’s bone cancer, at an advanced stage.”

“Huaihuai, what did you say?” Zhao Li suddenly stood up from her office chair, and her voice rose a degree with the last word.

Xie Huai’s nose tingled, and he hesitated before repeating, “The doctor said I have advanced-stage bone cancer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a “thud” sound in his ears. Xie Huai knew that Ms. Zhao Li’s cell phone had fallen to the ground.

He gazed blankly out of the window, tears welling up in his eyes.

Why did it have to be him?

“Huaihuai, where are you now?” Zhao Li’s choked voice came through the phone, Mom is coming to find you.”

Xie Huai told Zhao Li the name of the hospital.

After hanging up the phone, Xie Huai opened WeChat and clicked on the chat box with Jiang Xu, wanting to send something to Jiang Xu.

His fingertips paused on the screen for a moment, and he typed—

Xie Huai: Jiang Xu, what are you doing now?

At this time, Jiang Xu should still be having a meeting in the school conference room. Xie Huai knew it, but he just wanted to talk to Jiang Xu for a while, and he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to do so in the future.

Jiang Xu was taking notes with a pen. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated, and he knew it was from Xie Huai.

He knew it was a message from Xie Huai because his phone was set to silent and vibration mode, with special permissions to allow messages and calls from Xie Huai.

The people in the meeting room were all focused on the speaker at the podium, so no one noticed Jiang Xu. He discreetly took out his phone and replied to Xie Huai’s message.

Jiang Xu: Still in the meeting.

Jiang Xu: What’s wrong, baby?

Xie Huai’s heart ached at Jiang Xu’s words, and even breathing became difficult for him.

Even his typing hand was trembling.

Xie Huai Huai: Nothing much, I just… miss you QVQ.

Xie Huai turned off his phone and took a few deep breaths after sending this sentence. His legs were so weak on the way back to the doctor’s office that he almost fell.

It turned out that the pain he experienced in his legs and shoulders was caused by bone cancer rather than arthritis.

Zhao Li and Father Xie rushed to the hospital without any delay. When they entered the door, they saw Xie Huai sitting on a chair nearby. He looked very calm. Only his eyes were slightly red. It was obvious that he had cried just now.

Zhao Li rushed over and hugged Xie Huai, crying softly.

Father Xie seemed to be calmer, but that was just on the surface.

He approached the doctor and said, “Doctor, can you show me the examination report?”

The doctor handed over the report.

Father Xie closed his eyes when he saw the words “advanced-stage bone cancer.”

The doctor, feeling sympathy, said, “Based on my observation, his condition is already quite serious. Although the final outcome… may not be very good, if we pursue active treatment, he could have about six months.”

After saying this, the doctor turned his head away.

Only six months…

After listening, Zhao Li held Xie Huai even tighter and cried harder.

Father Xie staggered and turned back to look at his son.

He asked, “Is it really only six months?”

“Yes, it might be longer, but not more than a year,” the doctor sighed. “If we had detected it a year earlier, it wouldn’t be at the advanced stage.”

The doctor left his office to the family.

Zhao Li suddenly remembered Xie Huai having difficulty breathing at night a year ago. Finally, it was discovered that Xie Huai suffered from acute heart failure. He was in the hospital for a month and a half. Xie Huai had a high fever and was semi-conscious on the night of the disease’s onset, so he didn’t know anything about it.

When he woke up, he thought he had a high fever and went into the hospital, and didn’t think much about it.

Neither Zhao Li nor Xie Huai’s father mentioned this matter to Xie Huai. They just didn’t want Xie Huai to know. They just wanted him to be happy every day. They had plenty of money anyway. Even if Xie Huai decided not to continue his education, they could still support him. They simply wanted their son to be well and happy.

To prevent a recurrence, Xie Huai had to take medication regularly. To hide it from him, Zhao Li had swapped the heart medication into a vitamin bottle, instructing him to take one pill daily.

This medication often caused drowsiness, which led to a significant drop in Xie Huai’s grades during his first year of high school. Zhao Li had informed the school principal, who was her own brother, about Xie Huai’s situation.

After that, no teacher disturbed him when he dozed off in class.

Fortunately, the condition was under control and Xie Huai never had this problem again.

But she only occasionally hears Xie Huai say that his shoulders and legs hurt.

Could it be that he had bone cancer since then?

Zhao Li hugged Xie Huai tighter, tears streaming down her face. “Huaihuai, I’m sorry. It’s all Mom’s fault.”

If only they had conducted a more thorough examination back then, perhaps Xie Huai wouldn’t be in this situation now.

“Mom,” Xie Huai reached out and patted Zhao Li’s back gently, “Stop crying. You are so beautiful, but you become ugly when you cry.”

Hearing the last sentence, Zhao Li couldn’t help but smile. “Do you have to say that about your own mother?”

Father Xie also walked over. To be honest, Xie Huai had never seen his father cry before.

He stretched out his hand to hold his parents’ hands and said softly: “I will get proper treatment. Don’t be sad; I can’t bear to see you like this.”

Xie Huai couldn’t bear to see them cry or suffer, even if it was for his sake.

“Classmate Xiao Jiang, does he know?” Zhao Li asked Xie Huai while wiping her tears.

Xie Huai’s breath hitched, and he bit his lip, shaking his head. His throat tightened as he said, “He doesn’t know, Mom. Please don’t tell him for now, okay?”

“I know I need to get treatment,” Xie Huai thought of Jiang Xu, making his heart ache, and he couldn’t find the words to express his feelings. “But, give me some time. I… haven’t figured out how to tell him.”

Xie Huai lowered his head, his left fingertips pressing hard into his palm.

Moreover, he didn’t want to be separated from Jiang Xu.

Father Xie went to go through the hospitalization procedures for Xie Huai first so that he could come in for treatment at any time. Zhao Li wanted to drive Xie Huai home but was stopped by Xie Huai.

“Mom, I want to go back alone,” Xie Huai smiled and said, “I’ll be fine.”

Watching Xie Huai’s smile, Zhao Li couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She turned away, her vision gradually blurring. She saw her husband walking toward her, and she rushed into his arms, crying uncontrollably.

Xie Huai’s lips twitched slightly as he walked in the opposite direction.

As he neared the bus stop, he saw Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu stood alone under the bus stop sign. The scorching sun was in the sky, and golden beams of light shone down, depicting the tall and thin figure of the young man.

As if noticing Xie Huai’s gaze, Jiang Xu raised his eyes and looked at Xie Huai from a distance.

Xie Huai suppressed the sadness in his heart and walked towards Jiang Xu, even running the last distance.

Then Xie Huai ran into Jiang Xu’s arms.

Jiang Xu hugged Xie Huai and said slowly: “Your feet are not fully healed yet, why are you running?”

“It’s almost as good.” Xie Huai replied.

Hearing Jiang Xu’s voice put Xie Huai at ease, and the faint scent of grass and trees also helped him relax.

“Baby, do you really want to see me that much?” Jiang Xu asked as he handed Xie Huai a dolphin gummy candy.

“Yeah.” Xie Huai didn’t dare to look into Jiang Xu’s eyes. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to bear it, so he had to lower his eyes and take the candy, “I really want to.”

The bus arrived soon. Xie Huai took Jiang Xu’s hand and walked on. There was no one on this bus. Jiang Xu and Xie Huai sat in the row behind the back door. That location was more convenient for getting off.

Jiang Xu pinched Xie Huai’s finger and asked, “How are the examination results?”

Jiang Xu could clearly feel Xie Huai’s paused fingertips. After a brief pause, he looked at Xie Huai and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing,” Xie Huai pretended to be casual. “The doctor just told me to avoid getting into fights. It’s not good for my bones.”

He lowered his head. Jiang Xu couldn’t see the emotion in Xie Huai’s eyes clearly, so he didn’t think much about it.

“The doctor even knows you get into fights?” Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow.

“What fights?” Xie Huai glanced at Jiang Xu, “I was just being a good Samaritan.”

Jiang Xu chuckled softly, “Yes, a good Samaritan.”

Xie Huai lifted his eyelids and realized that Jiang Xu had a beautiful smile. He hadn’t seen it often before because back then, Jiang Xu had appeared indifferent to everyone. Just imagine if Jiang Xu had smiled at him during those times, he would have thought he was hallucinating.

Now, he saw Jiang Xu smile every day, and it was almost unsettling.

After returning home, Jiang Xu started cooking lunch, and Xie Huai followed him, occasionally helping with tasks like washing and cutting vegetables. Xie Huai still knew how to do these things.

Xiao Huaihuai also walked into the kitchen slowly. He didn’t run around, but just sat on the side, lying down and wagging his tail to watch them cook.

After lunch, Xie Huai and Jiang Xu washed the dishes together. Xie Huai was a bit clumsy, and he got his hand wet. So, he flicked some water at Jiang Xu from a distance. Jiang Xu glanced at him, and his gaze deepened slightly.

Xie Huai sensed that it might become dangerous if he stayed there any longer, so he quickly slipped away.

In the bathroom, he took a box of “Ibuprofen Sustained Release Capsules” from his bag. These were the medications he had brought back from the hospital. He took one and put the rest back in his bag.

Xie Huai walked out of the bathroom and looked straight at the back of Jiang Xu who was mixing milk for Xiao Huaihuai.

He didn’t know how to bring up the topic with Jiang Xu. He felt it was too cruel and unfair to Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu had liked him for four years, and now that they had finally gotten together, he was diagnosed with late-stage bone cancer.

He couldn’t imagine how Jiang Xu would react when he found out.

If he had been diagnosed a little earlier, Xie Huai would never have agreed to be with Jiang Xu, no matter how much he liked him. He would have rejected Jiang Xu.

In this way, Jiang Xu would definitely not feel so heartbroken when he later learned that he had bone cancer.

“Baby, do you know what will happen if you look at your boyfriend like this?”

Jiang Xu appeared in front of Xie Huai somehow.

Xie Huai was a bit bewildered. “What?”

Jiang Xu said lightly, “You won’t get out of bed for a week.”