Chapter 1172: I Have Come to Marry You

Seeing the direction the boy was pointing, Sun Bumian, hidden beneath the lion dance head, suddenly froze.

Amidst the festive drums and gongs, Sun Bumian quickly recovered. He nimbly led the way along the main road towards that direction, the colorful eyes on his headpiece blinking continuously, still exuding liveliness and joy.

No one saw, however, that Sun Bumian's hands, hidden beneath the headpiece, had unconsciously clenched into fists.

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

In the back seat of the Audi, its hazard lights flashing, Brother Pao, wearing a red corsage on his chest, watched as the pale high-rise building drew nearer. His palms were sweating profusely from nervousness.

Even before the grand procession of firecrackers, drums, and lion dance reached the hospital, many people were already looking out their windows, especially in the inpatient department. Figures in patient gowns poked their heads out, seemingly discussing something excitedly with those around them.

After entering the hospital gates, Sun Bumian turned off the noisy drum music, and everyone took down the firecrackers to avoid disturbing the resting patients inside.

Finally, an Audi with its hazard lights flashing, surrounded by many boys in suits, slowly pulled to a stop in front of the hospital.

In the silence, Brother Pao, with sweaty palms, opened the car door.

His hair was meticulously combed, and a vibrant red corsage adorned the lapel of his suit. He stood tall and proud, like a young general facing a storm, and took a deep breath under the gaze of countless eyes.

"Xiaoyu! I'm here to marry you!!!"

The boy, his neck flushed, yelled with all his might, his voice echoing through the hospital buildings.

The many voices watching from the windows grew into a fervent murmur, and people even began gathering to watch at the hospital entrance.

Brother Pao seemed oblivious to the pointing fingers and whispers. At an age where self-esteem often mattered more than life itself, in the full view of everyone, he stood with his sweaty hands clenched into fists, closed his eyes, and repeatedly shouted:

"Xiaoyu!! I'm here to marry you!!!"

"Xiaoyu!!! I'm here to marry you!!!!"

The figure of the wildly shouting boy was reflected in Chen Ling's pale red eyes. He stared blankly at the scene. For some reason, his heart, usually as calm as still water, seemed to ripple with emotion, stirred by those shouts.

It was the simplest and most direct emotional transmission between "people," the ability called "empathy" that every human should possess.

Chen Ling hadn't felt this way in a long time.

Brother Pao's shouts continued. His voice grew hoarse from the constant repetition, yet he showed no sign of stopping. The other boys' eyes were also red-rimmed, and they, too, nervously clenched their fists, as if waiting for something.

Just as numerous security guards arrived, drawn by the commotion and preparing to disperse the crowd, a figure in a wheelchair was slowly pushed out from inside the hospital.

It was a bald girl.

She wore a pale patient gown, her face devoid of color, and her body was gaunt, a shocking sight. She stared blankly at everything happening at the hospital entrance, two streams of tears ceaselessly falling from her eyes. Her entire body visibly trembled.

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

At eighteen or nineteen, an age when girls typically care about their appearance, she had not a single strand of hair. Only chemotherapy could reduce someone to such a state.

"She... is the bride you came for?" Chen Ling asked the boy beside him.

"Yes!" The boy's lips were tightly pressed together, his eyes red-rimmed. "In high school, we were all classmates. Brother Pao and Sister Yu were already together back then. They had planned to attend the same university and get married there, but when they were going from sophomore to junior year, Sister Yu was suddenly diagnosed with cancer and dropped out to seek treatment.

Brother Pao was frantic then, but we were just high school students, so there wasn't much we could do. He messaged Sister Yu every day. Sister Yu told him she was almost cured and would take the college entrance exam in her hometown. She said they could see each other again at university after her recovery by the end of the summer vacation.

After Brother Pao happily finished his exams, he couldn't get in touch with Sister Yu, so he desperately sought information. That's when he learned that Sister Yu's family had exhausted all their savings on her treatment, yet she hadn't recovered. She had to be transferred, through connections, to this hospital in her hometown of Wushan. They said it was for continued treatment, but in reality, there wasn't much hope left."

The boy paused for a moment, his voice choked.

"Later, Brother Pao insisted on coming to find her, saying he had promised to marry her. As his brothers, how could we just do nothing?

Anyway, our exams were over, so my brothers and I secretly borrowed a thousand yuan each online. We pooled the money and stood on a 'green-skin' train for a day and a night to come to Wushan for the wedding. Before we left, we all agreed that no matter the outcome, we wouldn't regret it."

Chen Ling stood silently, his gaze towards the girl in the wheelchair filled with profound complexity.

When Brother Pao saw the girl emerge, his eyes suddenly lit up. He strode forward, his legs stiff from nervousness, towards the girl. He had imagined himself gracefully kneeling on one knee and delivering his prepared lines...

But as he got closer and saw the face of the beloved he had longed for, all his preparations seemed awkward and inadequate.

He opened his mouth, but still uttered the same words:

"Xiaoyu... I'm here to marry you."

Tears gushed uncontrollably from the girl's eyes. She clenched her small fists and repeatedly pounded Brother Pao's chest, crying out:

"What are you doing! I'd already convinced myself to forget you! I even deleted you! Why did you come all this way..."

"I told you I'd marry you."

Brother Pao allowed the girl's gentle fists to land on his chest, a smile as radiant as the red corsage on his lapel appearing on his face. He solemnly took a small box from his trouser pocket and gently opened it.

Inside was a small, delicate ring.

Seeing the ring, the girl's lips pressed tightly together. After a long struggle, she didn't take it, but choked out:

"Do you know I'm dying..."

"You won't die." Seeing her reaction, Brother Pao simply took out the ring himself and gently placed it on the girl's slender finger. "Today, I met a lion dance performer and gave him the small gold trinket 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. She couldn't hold back any longer. As she sobbed uncontrollably, she continued to pound his chest with the hand wearing the ring.

"Are you stupid, stupid, stupid!! You believe a swindler just because he says a few lucky words...

It's because you're so easily fooled that I managed to trick you, you know? Now it's too late! You can't escape... If I die, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"