The time of the city

Chapter 254 Separation

It was already night when Ni Jiamu woke up. All he saw was the monotonous white walls of the ward and the IV bottle hanging there. He knew he was in the hospital.

Turning his head, he saw Bai Jinwei and Ji Lin sitting side by side on the sofa. Their hair was a little messy, their eyes were red, and there were traces of tears in the corners of their eyes. It was obvious that they had just cried.

Ni Jiamu frowned slightly, propped himself up, and said in a teasing voice, "It's not that serious, is it? It's just a stomach ailment. Why are you two crying?"

As he spoke, he began to look around, his hands groping around the bed, "Hey, where's my phone? What time is it now? I have to go back, otherwise Xiaoyu will be worried."

Ji Lin quickly walked to the bedside and pushed Ni Jiamu back onto the bed: "Jiamu, you need to be hospitalized. I'll tell Mo Yu right away."

Ni Jiamu's expression changed suddenly when he heard this, and he grabbed Ji Lin's hand anxiously: "Don't make a fuss! Don't tell Xiaoyu, I'm really fine, I don't feel any pain now, I have to go home."

Ji Lin remained silent, took out a medical record from his pocket and handed it to Ni Jiamu.

Ni Jiamu took it, and as soon as his eyes caught sight of the words "late-stage gastric cancer," his smile froze, and the color quickly drained from his face. His hands began to tremble as he trembled over the medical record. "You two are so boring! You're kidding me about something like this!"

Bai Jinwei had already burst into tears, his shoulders twitching violently, and his voice was filled with tears: "Jiamu, it's true..."

Ni Jiamu's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he forced a stiff, ugly smile: "Isn't it just cancer? Stop crying."

Then, he tore the medical record into pieces with both hands. "You must not tell Xiaoyu about this. I need you to do something for me..."

Despite the two's pleas to dissuade him, Ni Jiamu insisted on leaving the hospital. When he got home and opened the door, Mo Yu, who had dozed off on the sofa, suddenly jumped up.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and said, "Brother, why don't you reply to my messages? I almost fell asleep waiting for you. I made a lot of delicious food today. I'll go heat it up now. Go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Ni Jiamu nodded woodenly and walked towards the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and boiling hot water gushed out. As soon as he reached out his hand, he suddenly pulled it back as if he had been electrocuted.

Ni Jiamu looked up at the mirror. The person in the mirror was as pale as paper, completely devoid of blood. "I can't let Xiaoyu see this," he muttered to himself, then scooped up cold water with both hands and splashed it hard on his face.

When Ni Jiamu came out of the bathroom, Mo Yu was carrying the dishes to the table. Ni Jiamu seemed to have lost his mind, forgetting what he was doing and went straight upstairs.

"Brother, it's almost time for dinner, why are you going upstairs?"

Ni Jiamu finally came back to his senses and smiled awkwardly: "Oh, okay, I'll come down now."

Mo Yu handed the bowl of rice to Ni Jiamu: "Brother, are you sick? Why do you look so bad today and you seem so dazed?"

Ni Jiamu shoveled his rice into his mouth and said vaguely, "It's okay, I'm just too tired from work."

"Then you should rest more, brother, and eat more meat." Mo Yu smiled and picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it into Ni Jiamu's bowl.

After dinner, Mo Yu hummed a little tune while cleaning up the dishes.

Ni Jiamu looked at the busy Mo Yu, exhaled a long breath, and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Xiao Yu, I want to tell you something."

"What's the matter?" Mo Yu stopped what she was doing and looked at Ni Jiamu curiously.

Ni Jiamu turned his head to the side, not daring to look directly into Mo Yu's eyes: "Xiao Yu, let's separate."

Mo Yu was stunned for a moment, tilting her head and thinking for a while: "Brother, are you going on a business trip? Then go ahead and don't worry, I will wait for you at home."

"No, I am... I am used to living alone. I feel more comfortable alone. So, Xiaoyu, let's live separately. Do you want to stay in the old house or move out?"

Mo Yu froze in place, staring intently at Ni Jiamu, and asked word by word, "Brother, don't you want me anymore?"

Ni Jiamu bit his lips tightly, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, still not daring to look into Mo Yu's eyes.

Mo Yu's eyes were red, and she continued in a tearful voice, "Brother, you said that there were only the two of us left in this family, and we would be together forever. What happened to you today? Did I do something wrong?"

Ni Jiamu stood up, turned his back to Mo Yu, and pretended to be calm: "It has nothing to do with you, I just want to be alone. I am a weird person, not a bitch? Think about it carefully, whether to stay in the old house or move out, tell me when you have made up your mind." After that, he hurried upstairs, walked into the room, and quickly locked the door.

Ni Jiamu slowly squatted down by the door, finally sitting on the ground. He looked out the window at the bright moonlight, tears welling up uncontrollably and sliding silently down his cheeks. "I was clearly starting to feel happy, God, you really know how to tease me."

Downstairs, Mo Yu cleared the dishes and tiptoed upstairs. Passing by Ni Jiamu's room, she raised her hand, wanting to knock on the door to find out what was going on, but her hand shot up into the air before she slowly retracted it.

She consoled herself mentally: "My brother is just too tired, that's why he's in a bad mood. It's normal. Once he gets some rest, everything will be fine. I used to get angry with him often, and he never blamed me. I can't blame him this time either."

The next morning, sunlight shone through the cracks in the window onto Mo Yu's face. After getting up, she looked around upstairs and downstairs, but there was no sign of Ni Jiamu.

After searching the house, she couldn't find the sticky note Ni Jiamu had left. She hurriedly opened WeChat, but the dialog box was blank and Ni Jiamu hadn't sent a message.

Mo Yu suddenly felt uneasy. With trembling fingers, she called Ni Jiamu. After the ringing lasted a few seconds, the call was connected: "Brother, have you gone to work?"

"Sorry, miss, Mr. Ni is busy." A strange voice came from the other end of the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Mo Yu's tense shoulders relaxed little by little. She let out a light breath, and the worry between her brows dissipated a lot.

She tucked the strands of hair behind her ears with her fingertips and said to herself with a smile: "Brother went to work, it's okay."