The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 276 - 274: The First Time She Embraced Her Dream

Chapter 276: Chapter 274: The First Time She Embraced Her Dream

After the first time, every visit to Lin Zhishu’s home for tutoring became more natural.

Sometimes his parents would be home, but after overcoming the initial shyness and awkwardness, both families quickly became familiar with each other.

Lin Zhishu diligently helped Cheng Yuan with tutoring, and she didn’t let anyone down with her rapid progress, making great strides in every midterm and final exam.

By her senior year, she had already received three years of scholarships and won top-three prizes in over a dozen competitions.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhishu had pursued a continuous study from bachelor’s to master’s, balancing his studies with an internship at the largest hospital in Jing City, leaving him with almost no time to go home.

Cheng Yuan also progressed to graduate studies in her senior year.

Her entire trajectory seemed like a replica of Lin Zhishu’s.

Just as she had set as a goal in her freshman year, she closely followed the light in her heart, not seeking to stay by his side in an intimate way, but merely hoping for more opportunities to see him in the future.

By the time Cheng Yuan graduated from her master’s program, Lin Zhishu had become a doctor at the First Hospital.

Due to both being overwhelmingly busy over the years, those cherished tutoring sessions had long faded into new memories.

Even though they still lived close like before, they rarely encountered each other.

It wasn’t until she and Xia Yu’an applied for an internship at the First Hospital that she finally saw Lin Zhishu again.

By this time, they were both more mature than a few years ago.

Lin Zhishu no longer had a youthful aura, and Cheng Yuan no longer showed signs of her past shyness and timidity.

She happily saw them both grown and improved.

And happily worked at the same hospital with Lin Zhishu, seeing him every few days.

However, the world loves to play tricks on people.

Cheng Yuan suddenly had a nosebleed while working. She hurried to the restroom to wash it off, only to feel the world spinning and collapse to the floor deeply.

When she woke up, many people surrounded her.

Her mom, Lin Zhishu’s parents, the family of Ye Manman and He Chen, Xia Yu’an and her husband, and many others she couldn’t quite recall.

She only remembered seeing Lin Zhishu standing beside her the moment she woke up.

On his face, she saw a familiar expression.

As if she had seen it somewhere before.

But she couldn’t quite remember.

She only felt extremely tired and her head ached terribly, not wanting to open her eyes at all.

"What happened to me?"

As an intern doctor, Cheng Yuan clearly understood that she might have a very serious illness; a common sickness wouldn’t cause such sudden nosebleeds and fainting.

But when she asked, everyone only cried and no one told her what was wrong with her.

She could only seek help from Lin Zhishu.

"What illness do I have?"

Lin Zhishu’s eyes were red, and dark circles were deep under his eyes, as if he had been up all night.

She had never seen him like this, his hair messy and unkempt, and two buttons on his shirt under the white coat undone, looking disheveled, as if he had just woken up and left without looking in the mirror.

Lin Zhishu couldn’t say a word, so he handed her the test report.

It was a blood test report.

As a doctor, she immediately understood.

It was leukemia.

No wonder.

No wonder Lin Zhishu’s expression seemed so familiar just now.

Yiyi had left them due to this illness.

For this reason, Lin Zhishu had focused on this area of research all these years since starting college.

And now it was her turn, huh?

Cheng Yuan casually placed the report by the bedside, suddenly feeling exhausted.

It seemed she had overexerted herself these past few years.

Since starting college, she never really rested well, constantly studying and chasing relentlessly.

But now, she had finally caught up, reached the edge of her dreams, only for God to play such a huge joke on her.

This illness, even in its early stages, might not be curable, let alone now that it’s in its late stage, absolutely impossible to cure.

If she insisted on treatment, the savings she had painstakingly accumulated for her mother over the years would be depleted instantly, potentially leaving her mother with massive debts for the rest of her life.

So what was all her hard work in studying and working for over these years?

It seemed there was nothing left apart from leaving behind some good memories for herself and some savings for her mother.

On the day she was diagnosed with leukemia, everyone told her many things and arranged when to see her again.

After everyone left, only her mom and Lin Zhishu remained in the ward.

Cheng Yuan glanced at the utterly fatigued Lin Zhishu, then at her mom.

"Mom, I’m a bit hungry, I want something to eat."

Mrs. Cheng’s eyes were swollen from crying, but hearing those words, she hurried out to buy some porridge.

Then, it was just her and Lin Zhishu left.

Cheng Yuan deliberately sent her mom away.

She wanted to have a good talk with Lin Zhishu.

"Yuan, don’t be afraid, stay calm. I’ll find a way to cure you. This is my area of specialization. I’ve been working on it for years, I’m about to make some progress, I..."

"Forget it, Lin Zhishu, stop comforting me."

Cheng Yuan interrupted him, her expression calm.

"I’m a doctor too, do you think you can deceive me?"

"This illness is incurable."

And it doesn’t need to be treated.

She didn’t say the last part, mainly not to upset him.

This man, who had struggled from his teens to his thirties, had half his life destroyed by this disease.

The girl he liked was taken away by leukemia.

Now, the girl who likes him would be taken away by leukemia too.

Then what was all his hard work for over these years?

Just thinking from his perspective, Cheng Yuan felt devastated for him.

But there was nothing to be done, she was just so unlucky.

Maybe liking him and chasing after him was, in itself, a life-draining endeavor.

She no longer hoped for any outcome with him; this was merely an early end to a long process of companionship in the future.

Cheng Yuan didn’t feel regretful.

She only worried about this man, who was crying his eyes out at his age, collapsing completely after she was gone.

When the time comes, without her secretly liking and supporting him, what would he do?

"Alright, stop crying. You’re too old to be crying like this. I’m not going to die right away; I can still live for a while, can’t I?"

Cheng Yuan tugged at Lin Zhishu’s white coat, saying words that didn’t even sound like consolation to her.

Lin Zhishu took off his glasses, unable to wipe away his tears, his nose flushed from crying, lip trembling with sobs like a child who had lost his most treasured toy.

"Yuan, I really tried my best. I don’t know why I just can’t find a way to overcome it. I looked at your test report; I spent last night going through materials and past cases, but this illness is just incurable. I really don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to cure you..."

He kept wiping his tears, sobbing uncontrollably by the bedside.

It was the first time Cheng Yuan had seen Lin Zhishu like this.

Even more upsetting than the blurred memories of tears past.

Heart aching with mixed emotions, Cheng Yuan ultimately chose to hold him.

She was a timid admirer, never daring to overstep in their relationship.

Today was her first time embracing her ideal.

It turned out his waist was so slender, his stomach soft, and even through his clothes, she could feel his warmth when she pressed her face to him.

Cheng Yuan held him greedily and didn’t let go but could never bring herself to tell him she once liked him and had maintained that affection until now.

It’s better not to tell him.

This man who looks so stable, in reality, would cry bitterly when he couldn’t answer a question.

Knowing might make him cry harder, and then there would be no one else to hold him.

That would be too pitiful.

Some secrets are better left with her. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Although he wasn’t her moon, there was a moment when the moonlight shone on her.

That was already enough.

Up till now, apart from only leaving money behind and not being able to care for her mom in her old age, her life no longer had regrets.