The gymnastics fairy who went viral online turned out to be my best friend who I had lost contact with?

Just as the young girl was lamenting the cruelty of fate, the door to the ward was gently pushed open.

Her parents walked in, wearing strained smiles, and trailing behind them was another equally young girl.

The moment she saw that girl, Xu Qing, lying in the hospital bed, was slightly stunned.

It was her best friend, Tang Xiaoxiao.

"Xiaoxiao?"

As soon as Tang Xiaoxiao saw her best friend lying in the hospital bed, looking haggard and thin, her eyes immediately reddened.

Unable to hold back any longer, she rushed forward, leaned over the bedside, and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Qingqing... how could you... how could you become like this..."

"You've been suffering from such a serious illness, why didn't you tell me! Why?"

Xu Qing's parents watched the scene, their eyes also turning red.

They exchanged a pained glance, quietly retreated from the ward, and gently closed the door, leaving the space to the two long-separated friends.

"It's okay, Xiaoxiao, stop crying."

"Look at you, crying like a kitten, you look awful."

Xu Qing reached out and, with some effort, patted Tang Xiaoxiao's back.

Her movements were light and her voice was weak, yet they carried a calming tranquility.

"I don't care!" Tang Xiaoxiao lifted her head, her tear-streaked face filled with heartache and anger.

"How can I not cry when you're like this! You idiot, you actually kept something this big a secret from me!"

"If Auntie and Uncle hadn't contacted me today, were you planning to keep hiding it from me forever?!"

Tang Xiaoxiao had only received the call from Xu Qing's parents today.

They said their daughter was too depressed staying alone in the ward every day and hardly spoke to anyone.

Therefore, they wanted to invite her, her best friend, to come and keep her company and cheer her up.

But Tang Xiaoxiao never imagined that the purpose of "cheering her up" was because her best friend had a terminal illness and didn't have long to live... "I just didn't want you to worry..." Xu Qing sighed softly.

Tang Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered why she was here.

She was here to comfort Qingqing, not to increase her psychological burden.

Realizing this, she vigorously wiped away her tears, forcing the sadness down.

She forced out a smile uglier than a cry and began awkwardly changing the subject.

"Oh, right, Qingqing, let me tell you, that eccentric professor at our university flung his wig off again during class last time, I almost died laughing!"

"Also, I've been learning to drive recently, and the instructor is a grumpy uncle who yells at me every day, saying I'm only fit to drive a mobility scooter. I was so angry I almost fought him..."

"Uh... maybe talking about this stuff is boring. Let's talk about the old days instead."

"So... that, Qingqing, do you remember? In our second year of high school, we skipped class to eat hotpot, and the homeroom teacher caught us red-handed and made us write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism."

"And also, the funniest thing was during the graduation trip!"

"The three of us secretly drank alcohol in the hotel to celebrate, and Sister Yue was knocked out after just one cup, hugging the toilet and throwing up all night, but she refused to admit it the next day."

"..."

Tang Xiaoxiao desperately recalled happy memories from the past, telling them to Xu Qing one by one, and telling them to herself as well.

As they chatted, a genuine smile finally appeared on her face, and the atmosphere was no longer so stiff.

Xu Qing listened quietly, a faint smile on her face.

These beautiful memories were some of the few lights she had during this period.

Just then, Xu Qing seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, "Speaking of Sister Yue... Xiaoxiao, have you heard anything from Sister Yue recently?"

Hearing this, Tang Xiaoxiao's voice abruptly stopped.

She paused and subconsciously countered, "You don't know?"

"Know what?" A hint of confusion appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

During this time, she had been virtually cut off from the world; every day, besides receiving treatment, she just lay in bed staring blankly, completely unaware of outside events.

Only in the last two days had she picked up her phone again and learned a little about the information online.

"Sister Yue... she was trending across the entire internet before!"

Tang Xiaoxiao looked at her bewildered expression and suddenly realized, "Well... you definitely weren't in the mood to look at your phone then."

"Wait a minute, I'll find it and show you."

Saying this, she quickly tapped a few times on her phone, found a video, and handed the phone to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took the phone, her face full of curiosity.

The video was posted by the official account of Great Xia.

The content of the video was precisely the new instructional video, "Great Xia is Soaring," featuring the Kunlun Squad and filled with a sense of power.

Xu Qing had actually heard of this national exercise routine but had never specifically looked into it.

After all, at that time she was lying despairingly in her hospital bed, undergoing painful chemotherapy every day, and had no state of mind to care about what was happening outside.

But now, when she saw the girl leading the exercises in the video, standing in front of two hundred soldiers, dressed in white practice clothes and possessing an extraordinary and refined aura,

she was completely stunned.

She recognized that face!

Wasn't that her other best friend, Lin Xiyue?!

"Xiaoxiao... is this real?" Xu Qing's voice trembled slightly.

"I remember... a few months ago, Sister Yue's brother suddenly passed away..."

"She was devastated back then..."

"Since then, we haven't been able to contact her at all."

"How could this..."

Xu Qing's mind was a mess.

In the video, Lin Xiyue's every movement carried an indescribable sense of rhythm.

On that pure and lovely face, not only was the original sadness gone, but it was replaced by a breathtaking, extraordinary temperament.

This was completely different from the girl she remembered who had almost broken down after losing her brother.

What exactly had she experienced these past few months?

Why was there such a huge change?

"I don't know what happened either..."

Tang Xiaoxiao also wore an expression of confusion and helplessness.

"After watching this video, I tried contacting Sister Yue."

"Unfortunately, her account has always been offline... and her phone is permanently switched off, you can't even get through."

"But this video features the Great Xia military, and the filming location looks unusual..."

"So I guess Sister Yue might be in some special military base, and all communications are blocked?"

This was the only reasonable explanation she could think of.

"The problem is... why would Sister Yue suddenly join the military?" Xu Qing's confusion deepened. "When we were filling out college applications, I never heard her say she was applying to a military academy!"

"I don't know..."

Tang Xiaoxiao shook her head.

Then she grasped Xu Qing's hand and said firmly, "But at least we know Sister Yue is fine now, and she looks like she's in great shape... that's enough!"

"Don't worry... when I manage to contact her, she will definitely come to see you right away!"

"Until then... you... you have to take care of yourself! You must hold on!"

By the end of her sentence, Tang Xiaoxiao's tears were welling up again.

Just then, there was a knock on the ward door, and a nurse poked her head in.

"Xu Qing, please get ready, today's treatment is about to start."

"Okay... okay." Xu Qing replied.

Tang Xiaoxiao quickly wiped her tears, stood up, and forced an encouraging smile at Xu Qing: "Qingqing, you go ahead with your treatment. I... I'll come see you again tomorrow!"

"You have to be strong!"

Having said that, she turned and left the ward.

She didn't dare stay any longer; she was afraid she would lose control again.

The moment she stepped out of the ward and closed the door, Tang Xiaoxiao could no longer hold herself up.

Leaning against the cold wall, she began to sob silently.

A moment later, she took out her phone and clicked on the familiar contact whose profile picture was grayed out.

Without hesitation, she pressed the voice message button and sent several messages in a row.

"Sister Yue... where are you... please reply quickly..."

"Qingqing... Qingqing is dying..."

"If you don't come back soon... you might really miss seeing her one last time..."

"Waaah... Sister Yue... I'm begging you..."

The voice messages were sent one after another, but they were like stones sinking into the sea, receiving no response.

Tang Xiaoxiao couldn't hold it in anymore.

She immediately squatted on the floor and buried her face in her knees.

Immediately, suppressed sobs began to echo in the silent corridor.