The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 200 - 199: How Similar Their Ideals Are

Her voice was a bit choked, "But Lin Zhishu was really angry. I’ve known him for three years, and that was the first time he got mad at me. I couldn’t take what he said, so I ran away crying, sulking for several days without going to play with them."

"But within a couple of days, the sister from our neighbor’s house got sick and passed away. I always thought she was just in poor health, so she was often ill. I didn’t understand what a terminal illness was or what death represented."

"And because I was sulking those days, when my mom told me that if I didn’t go out, I’d never see the sister again, I thought she was just trying to provoke me, so I stubbornly refused to go out."

At this moment, Cheng Yuan began to sob uncontrollably.

"I didn’t even get to see her one last time, even though she used to spoil me so much and always treated me like a little sister."

She covered her face, seemingly digging out this sad memory had caused her immense pain.

The story hadn’t ended yet, and Ye Manman was at a loss for words, so she handed her a tissue.

Cheng Yuan wiped her tears, calmed herself, and continued speaking.

"Actually, ever since then, I had planned not to like Lin Zhishu anymore. The sister from the neighbor’s house treated me so well, I didn’t want to chase after the boy she liked after she was gone, so I forced myself not to seek him out."

"But soon after, my dad suddenly fell ill. He was sent to the hospital, but they couldn’t save him. From that day on, I was in a daze."

"At that time, I didn’t know what I could do anymore—just sitting there blankly—until Lin Zhishu came to find me, gave me the things that the neighbor’s sister had left for me, and told me he wanted to become a doctor. That’s when I realized I should pull myself together like him. I had to help my mom support the family again."

"After that, I rarely saw him. Until he got into Qing University and left town, I hadn’t spoken to him alone again. But Lin Zhishu was like a brand carved into my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget him. Instead, I often felt pain thinking of him and the neighbor’s sister."

She looked at Ye Manman with confusion and pain, her eyes red.

"Manman, what should I do? I can’t forget him. I still like him, but I don’t dare to find him, nor do I dare to tell him I like him. I..."

"He never liked me. In his heart, there’s only the sister. I don’t want to compete with her for him. I just like him, never thought about what to do with him. I also don’t know what I should do."

Ye Manman hadn’t expected Cheng Yuan’s story to be more complex and oppressive than she had imagined. With such a past, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Cheng Yuan to have the courage to confess.

It was no longer simply a matter of whether they liked each other or not.

Perhaps Cheng Yuan still liked him, but clearly, Lin Zhishu did not like her.

These two people, having not met for years, would find it hard to rekindle anything resembling liking.

Moreover, there was another person between them.

A person who would never appear again but was etched in both their hearts forever.

"Maybe you should try doing something you are interested in, Cheng Yuan. Life isn’t just about love; there are many meanings to our existence. Since Lin Zhishu has found the meaning of his life, and you’ve pulled yourself together again, why not look forward, put him behind you, and think about what you can do?"

Ye Manman, as an observer, couldn’t judge who was right or wrong among the three of them, but it was clear that if things persisted as they were, Cheng Yuan would be the one most hurt.

She didn’t want to see Cheng Yuan continue to suffer. Such days were enough for Cheng Yuan to bear.

Loving someone has never been a mistake, but if loving someone causes oneself to be immersed in pain, Ye Manman believed there was no need for it.

No one could live on condiments as a staple, just as love isn’t the staple of life.

She hoped Cheng Yuan could pick herself up.

Cheng Yuan, having cried enough, poured out the words she’d been unable to express for many years, felt a lot better inside.

But her life’s meaning had long been linked to Lin Zhishu.

"Manman, is he at the medical school?"

"Yes."

Ye Manman wasn’t surprised Cheng Yuan could guess that, but she couldn’t shake off a sense of dread.

Sure enough, Cheng Yuan smiled bitterly, "I knew he would study medicine. I applied to medical school too."

Ye Manman was shocked, "You didn’t choose medical school just because of him, did you?"

Originally, she thought that would surely be the case.

But Cheng Yuan shook her head, "He’s just one of the reasons."

Thinking of returning, her eyes were filled with pain.

"I personally saw the neighbor’s sister lying in bed day after day, frequently visiting the hospital, taking medicine every day, and exhausting her family’s savings, yet never getting better, shrinking day by day until she was unrecognizable."

"I also personally saw my dad suddenly fall ill, the doctors fighting with all their might but failing to save him, his face turning paper white and then covered with a white cloth."

"I think I understand why Lin Zhishu wants to study medicine, and that’s why I want to study it too. I never want to see the people around me leave one by one due to illness, while I can only stand by helplessly."

She wiped away her tears and took a large bite of food, her face displaying determination.

"I might not develop a cure-all drug, nor save everyone, but I believe that once I step into this field, I’ll hold the possibility of saving lives in my hands. Even if I study a lifetime and only save one person, I’d be willing."

At this moment, Ye Manman suddenly recalled Lin Zhishu mentioning in a previous conversation his willingness to dedicate his life to the country’s medical endeavors.

The same resolve, the same grandeur.

Their ideals were so similar.

Ye Manman was deeply moved.

After eating, she took Cheng Yuan around the campus, deciding not to insist on actively looking for Lin Zhishu, and Ye Manman was supportive of this decision too. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The two of them strolled for a while. The midday passed by in a blink; Ye Manman still had classes later, so Cheng Yuan didn’t linger.

After Cheng Yuan left, Ye Manman returned to her dorm to grab her books and stationery for class and headed to the classroom.

Perhaps she’d been eating well recently; her belly had started to show a little, slightly rounding, though it wasn’t too noticeable unless looked at closely.

Ye Manman began to pay more attention to her walking posture and tried to avoid going to classes during peak times, but still, there were people who tried to harm her.

When she was almost at the teaching building, someone bumped her shoulder suddenly.

Ye Manman noticed someone was about to pass by quickly, and she quickly moved to the side, preventing herself from being knocked to the ground.

But on such a wide path, with not many people walking around, it was obvious the person had intentionally targeted her.

Still in shock, she touched her belly and directly shouted at the two guys who passed her by.

"Hey! Don’t you know to apologize when you bump into someone?"

Ye Manman glared at them angrily, showing no intention of swallowing her anger, her tone very unfriendly.

Ji Bowen stopped, being tall, he looked down at her with a critical expression, as if inspecting a defective item.

"Oh, did I bump into you? That was truly a misunderstanding; I didn’t even notice anyone on the road."

Liao Yonghe, beside him, chuckled quietly, "Yeah, I didn’t notice either, given it’s almost time for class, and yet someone’s still on the road."

"Didn’t expect it to be our freshman representative. Apologies for that, but it’s not our fault your presence is so low we didn’t see you."