They are college classmates, all from the countryside. They promised to stay with each other forever. They work hard and want to have a warm home in a big city. Both of them have poor family circumstances and have to give back to their families from time to time, but both of them are full of hope for the future.
Because we are neighbors, and we drift together and appreciate each other, we can easily become friends. They often invite me to their home for dinner on weekends, which is a very warm "home".
All the walls were pasted with pink cardboard, and some potted flowers were raised on the balcony. The furniture is simple without losing the temperature, and both of them are very cheerful. Xiaohong loves to laugh, and laughter falls in every corner of the room like pearls and jade. A Qiang's sunshine humor often makes Xiaohong laugh my head off, so an optimistic and beautiful couple is completely destroyed by a shocking storm.
I will never forget that day. It was the weekend, and A Qiang worked overtime in the company. Xiaohong said that she felt a little sick and asked me to accompany her to the hospital for a check-up. I asked her what happened, but she didn't say anything. She looked nervous and kept asking.
I didn't know that Xiaohong had a lump in her breast until I got to the hospital. She found it in the shower recently. She felt a little bad, so she looked it up online. The information on the Internet made her more nervous and afraid. She didn't tell A Qiang. She smiled in front of him with tears in her voice. She is afraid that she really has an incurable disease. She has been afraid to go to the hospital and thought about it. If it is, she will care.
Xiaohong struggled to eat tea and rice, and she was thin and haggard. A Qiang thinks that she works too hard. He felt sorry for her and told her to have a good rest. He also works part-time on weekends and has no time to pay too much attention to her.
The result of the exam was not very good. The doctor advised Xiaohong to be hospitalized immediately. Xiaohong couldn't stop crying in an instant. She said that she should go back and discuss it with her family.
Xiaohong was helped out of the hospital by me. One day in midsummer, her hands were cold and cold, and there was a biting chill. I tried my best to comfort her and make her positive and optimistic along the way. Maybe it's nothing important. She didn't speak, but shed tears. She said don't tell A Qiang, I want to say something. She said she wanted to go alone.
I was busy at work at that time, and Xiaohong went to work normally. We didn't mention it At the weekend, Xiaohong told me that he had told A Qiang and they decided to go to the hospital for another check-up. I had to work overtime, so I didn't go. Besides, with A Qiang, I don't have to go.
The test results are still not good. It may be cancer. Xiaohong has locked herself in her room, and A Qiang has been begging her outside. Such a sunny boy seems to have aged ten years overnight. Finally, at A Qiang's insistence, Xiaohong underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
The operation brought them back to college overnight, penniless. A Qiang tried to find a part-time job and borrowed some money from his classmates and friends. They chose not to tell their families. The two families tried their best to bring them out, hoping that they could give back to their families. It's no use telling them, it will only increase their sadness.
Under the care of A Qiang, Xiaohong has become stronger and more cheerful.
After chemotherapy, I went to check again. The doctor said that her condition was under control and told her to have a good rest and keep a good attitude. Xiaohong was so excited that she hugged A Qiang and cried with a smile. I cried happily, too.
Then I changed my job and moved away. At first, we kept in touch. We know Xiaohong has been resting for some time, but she still goes out to work. Although A Qiang wouldn't let her go, she said she didn't want to see A Qiang work so hard alone. On the contrary, when she is bored at home, she is easily in a bad mood. A Qiang couldn't help her, so she agreed and asked her to change to an easy job.
Later, we all had our own busy things, and gradually we lost contact.
One day I was free and got a shocking news by phone. Xiaohong has been dead for a year. I cried and asked A Qiang, what's going on?
A Qiang choked up. Xiaohong wouldn't let her work part-time outside. She wanted to make more money to pay off her debts and didn't care much about her health. Later, her old illness recurred and she left forever in less than three months. A Qiang blamed herself and began to cry on the other end of the phone.
I took time to see A Qiang. He looks a completely different person, full of stubble. He is very depressed, hunchbacked, old and vicissitudes. I don't know how to comfort him. He said that he still lives there, and there are too many memories of him and Xiaohong. He said he would wait there until she came back.
I said people can't come back from the dead. Come on. Xiaohong must wish him well. He said he knew, but he just wanted to wait for her there, and he firmly believed that she would come back.
After that, we never contacted each other again. I wonder if A Qiang is waiting for her to come back.