The little incident didn't cause any unhappiness for either of them.
After strolling down the street, Su Qing returned with a full bag of small things. Jiang Sui would ask if she wanted anything, but he usually bought everything outright.
She couldn't stop him.
Su Qing simply gave up, too lazy to bother savoring their time together.
As the sky darkened, Jiang Sui didn't linger outside with Su Qing for long. He dropped her off at her doorstep, gave her a hug, and left.
The boy left so quickly and cleanly that Su Qing felt a little uncomfortable, but she didn't take it too seriously. She simply said something like, "Message me when you get back."
This close distance seemed to be Su Qing's limit. With that, the girl blushed and immediately ran off.
Unbeknownst to her, Jiang Sui's eyes suddenly dimmed, a trace of color and light extinguished in the world.
The boy's back was tinged with a faint loneliness and indifference.
Jiang Sui, a walking corpse, returned home, hiding in a corner. After pressing the screen of his phone to send a text message to Su Qing, he closed his eyes deeply. Watching his phone light up, the boy's eyes brightened for a moment, but then quickly dimmed as the light faded.
He clenched his fists tightly, his control reaching an extreme.
——
When Mei Yeqin received Jiang Sui's call, she was slightly surprised. Jiang Sui rarely called her.
So, Mei Yeqin basically couldn't receive Jiang Sui's calls.
Mei Yeqin had just returned home when the phone rang. She had put her clothes in the doorway closet and was changing her shoes when she spotted a pair of men's sneakers.
Just as she couldn't help but contemplate that handsome face, Mei Yeqin's phone rang.
Mei Yeqin answered the phone with surprise. Thinking of Pei Dai said that the case would be resolved soon, and the young man's words about receiving treatment after it was concluded, Mei Yeqin suddenly realized something.
"Ah Sui, what's wrong?"
Her voice was cool and clear, devoid of overly emotional overtones, neither repelling nor drawing too much attention. Her calm tone seemed to allow the boy to narrate more.
"Auntie." From his deep voice, Mei Yeqin could sense that something was amiss with the boy.
She remained silent, her heart filled with worry, but she didn't rush to ask what had happened.
"Auntie, I had a seizure outside today."
Today, outside, sick...
Those three words revealed a crucial signal.
Mei Yeqin froze. In her memory, ever since her sister's death, the boy with frequent seizures had been just like a normal person, no different at all.
Of course, he stopped seeking check ups. No one could force Jiang Sui to do anything.
Mei Yeqin was initially worried, but to ease their relationship, she had no choice but to accede to the boy's wishes. However, it didn't happen sooner, and this had been going on for over a decade.
At one point, Mei Yeqin wondered if Ah Sui wasn't ill at all, merely overwhelmed by the situation and experiencing emotional distress.
But the test results confirmed that wasn't the case.
Ah Sui had mild autism and intermittent explosive disorder.
Or perhaps it shouldn't be mild, but rather very severe.
After ten years, it happened again. It shouldn't use the word "happen"; it's not accurate. It should be "relapsed," after so many years.
"Auntie, I scared her."
Mei Yeqin couldn't have been more clearer about the word "she." It had to be Su Qing.
Within Mei Yeqin's surprise and worry, she could sense the boy's struggles and the reason for his phone call. Her voice was soft and gentle, a bit like Mei Yehua's. The two sisters had a close relationship, having been together since childhood, and there were no secrets between them.
Mei Yeqin, clever, understood Mei Yehua even better than she did herself, so imitating her voice was quite easy.
"Ah Sui, are you worried that she'll dislike you? Worried that she'll be afraid of you, hate you?"
There was no word from the other end, but Mei Yeqin knew she had guessed correctly. Her voice was tinged with a long sigh. It seemed no one in the Mei family, except herself, could escape this. Love, especially when it was deeply felt, was irresistible.
"Ah Sui, can you tell aunt in detail what happened today?"
Her voice was gentle, but the young man on the other end seemed unable to hear. He bit his lip, subconsciously avoiding the question. "She hates me, of course. I scared her."
His voice is low and hoarse. Mei Yeqin looked at the clock in her phone. It was already past ten o'clock. She frequently traveled between Jiangcheng and Wuzhen, so there were definitely no flights at this time.
"Ah Sui, no, Su Qing is a good child. She won't be afraid of you. If she knew about your situation, she would help you."
Mei Yeqin sighed as she spoke gradually. She could only use Su Qing as a starting point. She had actually wanted to talk to Su Qing for a long time, but because the timing was not right, Mei Yeqin didn't want to rush into a conversation and potentially worsen the boy's condition or hide it further.
Yes, Mei Yeqin had initially discovered that although Jiang Sui had recovered, he wasn't truly well. She realized that the boy had deliberately concealed his illness and many other things. The soft and tender little boy had transformed into a cold and aloof young man.
This was actually what Mei Yeqin feared most, because it proved that his condition wasn't getting better, but was actually worse.
One day, it would erupt.
Mei Yeqin's words might have touched a chord in Jiang Sui's heart.
"Really? She's really not afraid!"
His voice was filled with confusion, but the next second, Mei Yeqin heard the crackling noises coming from the boy's side. "No, don't let her know."
He snuggled up in a corner and decisively hung up the phone.
It was clearly healed...
But it wasn't healed at all. Suppressing and controlling his lucidity would only make future treatment more difficult.
She knew this deeply, but she couldn't force Jiang Sui into treatment.
Mei Yeqin rubbed her brows fiercely, then picked up the keys from the desk, retrieved her coat from the closet, changed her shoes, and headed to the parking lot.
Still uneasy, Mei Yeqin called Jiang Sui several times, only to discover the boy's phone was turned off.
Her brows furrowed in a deep frown.
After thinking about it, she thought of Pei Dai who was still in Wuzhen.