176: Chapter 176 Meeting by the River

It was ten at night, the wind was strong and cool.

By the Yao River.

The night wind brushed the River surface, causing slight ripples.

Twinkling stars dotted the deep blue night sky.

Xiao Ran had a very happy dinner tonight; he drank and played happily!

He didn't even know where Bai Lu bought so much beer!

Besides Xiao Ran, all the other girls were completely drunk!

Helpless, Xiao Ran could only stuff the girls, sprawled every which way, into three separate rooms.

Then he ran out!

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist making a mistake!

Who could imagine that when those girls got drunk, even with the air conditioning on, they all kept shouting that they were hot!

If he hadn't desperately stopped them!

He estimated that those lying on the bed would be strips of bare flesh!

As for whether they were really drunk or not, that remained unknown!

Xiao Ran leaned against the riverside railing and said into the phone, "Murong Lan, have you arrived?"

"Brother Xiao Ran! I'm by the river! Where are you?"

"A little below the bridgehead!"

"Brother Xiao Ran! I see you!"

"Beep beep beep~~"

Xiao Ran scratched his head.

This girl, she dared to hang up on him!

A gentle breeze came, carrying a familiar, faint fragrance!

She had arrived.

"Poof~"

"Brother Xiao Ran!"

Before he could turn around, his waist was hugged!

'She's lost a lot of weight.'

Xiao Ran gently pried at her hands: "Murong Lan, let go of me first!"

"No! I won't let go even if I die! If I let go again, A Lan will never see you again!" A soft sob came.

At this moment, she felt so happy!

It had been more than ten days since she last hugged him, but it felt like several centuries!

She was very scared!

Would this be her last hug with him?

So she didn't want to let go!

She was afraid that if she let go!

It would be eternal!

"A Lan! Let go first!" Xiao Ran suddenly called her by her nickname.

Murong Lan's body visibly stiffened, as if she had been electrocuted!

Just like Captain America telling Captain America, 'Bucky is alive!'

'What did Brother Xiao Ran call me?'

'A Lan!'

'He called me A Lan!'

Taking advantage of this moment, Xiao Ran quickly broke free from her embrace and turned around.

Then he looked intently at this haggard girl.

Under the streetlights by the river.

Murong Lan's watery eyes were slightly narrowed, with faint bloodshot lines, inadvertently revealing shyness mixed with joy.

A gentle breeze came.

Her soft, dark hair was lifted by the wind, gradually spreading out and dancing in the air, haphazardly brushing her slightly thinner cheeks.

"Brother Xiao Ran! What did you just call me!"

It was just a simple address.

But for Murong Lan now, it was undoubtedly the most longed-for sound of nature!

'Alas~~'

Xiao Ran sighed inwardly.

All these days, he had been treating her with a cold attitude.

But in reality, he didn't blame her in the slightest.

On the contrary, he was very grateful to her!

Because he had managed to gain over a hundred days of lifespan just from her!

She herself was innocent; everything was just him directing a play.

Her breaking up was indeed his fault for having multiple relationships.

And her later attitude was just a normal reaction for a girl.

Finally, her father's punch had nothing to do with her either.

If one had to stretch it, blame her for telling her father about his scummy deeds.

So, all in all, Xiao Ran still felt guilty towards her!

Keeping her in a negative state all this time had truly caused her hardship and difficulty!

"A Lan," Xiao Ran said softly.

"Brother Xiao Ran!" Murong Lan cried tears of joy.

She hadn't misheard!

Brother Xiao Ran called her A Lan again!

"Brother Xiao Ran! Brother Xiao Ran! Brother Xiao Ran..." She immediately threw herself into his arms, her small mouth trembling continuously.

Time seemed to pass for a long while.

Xiao Ran's legs were a little numb!

"A Lan, stop crying, that's enough!" Xiao Ran patted the girl's back and said softly.

The girl looked up.

Her beautiful hair scattered in the wind, for a moment it was hard to tell if it was her hair or her heart that was moving.

"Brother Xiao Ran! Do you still remember A Lan?" Murong Lan asked with anticipation in her eyes.

Xiao Ran smiled slightly, no longer cold towards her: "Of course I remember, you are my ex-girlfriend."

"Ah!" Murong Lan gasped, covering her mouth.

The crystal tears in her eyes kept falling, dripping onto the fair skin of her hand.

"Let's sit and talk." Xiao Ran smiled at her, then sat down on a long bench by the river.

The girl's heart was stirred, feeling that everything was too dreamlike!

Whether it was Brother Xiao Ran asking her out.

Or Brother Xiao Ran remembering her as his ex-girlfriend, not a heartless person.

She carefully walked to him, sitting down close beside him.

Her movements were cautious, afraid of disturbing this dreamlike reality!

"A Lan, tell me, where did you find out I had cancer?" Xiao Ran, as always, got straight to the point.

His topic immediately touched upon what the girl least wanted to face in her heart!

Even if Brother Xiao Ran ignored her, or didn't remember her!

She still didn't want Brother Xiao Ran to have cancer!

'If only I could make a trade!'

Murong Lan leaned her head on the boy's shoulder, and seeing that he didn't refuse, her lips curved slightly in joy.

But then this faint smile was replaced by sadness: "Brother Xiao Ran... the doctor told me..."

"How much longer did he say I could live?" Xiao Ran continued to ask.

"O-one... one month..." The girl's voice trembled, as if she was recounting a great terror.

"The doctor said..."

It seemed his medical records from the Third Hospital had been retrieved.

Thankfully, only Murong Lan knew; things weren't that troublesome.

"Brother Xiao Ran! Is it true! Are you really..." Murong Lan clung tightly to his arm, her voice filled with tension and unease.

"It's true," Xiao Ran said slowly, his voice somewhat flat.

"What!" Murong Lan exclaimed.

Hearing it from others was one thing; hearing Xiao Ran admit it himself was another!

How much she wished Brother Xiao Ran could tell her that the hospital had misdiagnosed!

Xiao Ran glanced at her and continued, "A Lan! I asked you to come out today because I have something I'd like your help with!"

"Brother Xiao Ran! You say it, as long as A Lan can do it, I'm willing to do anything!" Murong Lan said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, then exhaled a turbid one.

"I'll be leaving here in a few days..." Xiao Ran said softly.

"Brother Xiao Ran, you..." Murong Lan's eyes widened, and she momentarily lost her ability to speak!

It was as if a nuclear bomb had exploded in her mind, turning her brain into a mush!

What did Brother Xiao Ran mean?

What did he mean by leaving?

Could it be... Brother Xiao Ran's life had already... reached its end!

... — —

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