Sheng Yunshu felt that her sister had been acting strange lately.
Even though she was incredibly busy with her new position, she insisted on supervising her meals three times a day and constantly asked if she felt any discomfort.
At the slightest sign of her being unwell, Sheng Qingshan would immediately rush over, gripping her shoulders to look her up and down with such a grim expression that Sheng Yunshu suspected she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
When she said this jokingly, she received a flick on the forehead.
“Ouch!” Sheng Yunshu covered her forehead and cried out dramatically. In truth, it did not hurt at all, but she enjoyed seeing Sheng Qingshan looking so anxious.
Sure enough, Sheng Qingshan’s hand paused, then she gently stroked her head twice, as if coaxing a child.
Sheng Yunshu took the opportunity to lean in and rest her head on her shoulder. “Sister, are you too tired? You have dark circles under your eyes recently.”
“No.”
“You are lying. What time did you sleep last night? I woke up and saw the light at the door of the study was still on! This will not do. You have to cherish your body; you are not made of iron. Besides, is there not still her? Let her share some of your burden.”
“Do you not sleep well at night?”
“Is that the point? Are you even listening to me?”
Sheng Qingshan did not answer; she simply took her hand off her shoulder and held it in her palm.
Sheng Yunshu’s hands were cold.
It was already the end of April, and the temperature was rising every day, so the indoor heating had long been turned off. Sheng Yunshu liked to wear nightdresses at home because they were convenient, but her hands and feet were always cold.
Sometimes, Sheng Qingshan would secretly have 01 turn up the air conditioning in her room. However, she was not heat-tolerant either, and within a short while, she would be covered in sweat, only to go and question 01 with messy hair about whether it had been lazy and failed to maintain the appliances.
01 naturally would not betray its master and would honestly take the blame.
“Sister,” Sheng Yunshu suddenly spoke, “Your hands are so warm; it feels great.”
“Hmm.”
“If my hands stay this cold forever, will you keep warming them for me?” Sheng Yunshu squeezed her palm, acting spoiled.
Sheng Qingshan’s fingers tightened for a second before slowly relaxing.
That one-second pause made Sheng Yunshu’s heart race. Afraid she had guessed her true feelings, she quickly backtracked. “I was just saying it casually. Why are you so unable to take a joke? I might be home late tomorrow night; I have a key scene to shoot. Do not look at me like that! I have been resting at the set for a long time. I am the producer, after all; it would not look good if I were always absent!”
“Shoot during the day, and I will pay the overtime fees.” Sheng Qingshan did not give her a chance to refuse and left after taking a call.
Sheng Yunshu rested her chin on her hand, watching her back, feeling more and more that it was bizarre.
Before, when she was filming, there were plenty of times she pulled all-nighters, but she had never seen her be this concerned.
Sheng Yunshu always felt something was off, but she could not figure it out.
She was easily fatigued lately, and thinking too much made her dizzy, so she simply stopped thinking.
Life just went on like this.
Sheng Qingshan still monitored her three meals a day, still touched her forehead to check her temperature when she sneezed, and still arrived at her side the first moment she called out “Sister.”
This attentive care made Sheng Yunshu feel slightly lightheaded.
She was too lazy to wonder why Sheng Qingshan was suddenly so concerned about her; regardless, she was the one benefiting.
During this time, Sheng Qingshan was almost completely compliant with her, and Sheng Yunshu was not one to know when to stop, so she began to continuously create opportunities for physical contact.
Even though she knew that no matter how many times Sheng Qingshan hugged her, there would never be a place for her in her heart, she still hoped to get closer.
Sheng Yunshu’s menu grew longer and longer. Sometimes, when she was hungry in the middle of the night, 01 would quietly serve a bowl of small wontons or fermented glutinous rice balls.
Sheng Qingshan never mentioned a bland diet again. She ate every meal to her heart’s content, not noticing that Sheng Qingshan only sat across from her, holding a cup of tea, watching her eat.
“Are you not eating?”
“Not hungry.”
“You are eating less and less lately.”
“The weather is hot; I have no appetite.”
Hearing this, Sheng Yunshu pinched her own stomach, feeling puzzled.
Living together and eating the same food, why was her own appetite unusually good lately, perhaps even slightly abnormal?
On the set, she mentioned this to Shen Zhouxing.
As a director who had been navigating emotional projects for so many years, Shen Zhouxing had long guessed Sheng Yunshu’s intentions. However, since the other party had not explicitly stated it, she acted as if she did not know.
“Is it not good that she cares about you?” Shen Zhouxing drank her coffee, teasing her. “President Sheng is more attentive than some actual partners. Yunshu, you really are blessed.”
Her hand, which had been flipping through the script, paused, and the corners of Sheng Yunshu’s mouth lifted.
“What partner or not,” she waved her hand, “she is my sister.”
“Oh,” Shen Zhouxing dragged out the sound, smiling as she looked at her, “then why are you blushing?”
“I am not blushing.”
“Fine, you are not blushing.” Shen Zhouxing was sensible enough not to press further. “But honestly, your complexion really has been much better lately. You look radiant.”
“Really?” Sheng Yunshu touched her own face, feeling a bit proud. “My sister does not restrict my eating anymore. I eat whatever I want. Yesterday at midnight, I even ate a whole bowl of red-braised pork with rice.”
“Red-braised pork at midnight? Is it not greasy?”
“Oh, you clearly have not eaten anything good. One day you come to my house, and I will have 01 make you a portion; it is extremely delicious.”
Shen Zhouxing glanced at her, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment, the smile in her eyes fading slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.
“Then what about your sister? Does she eat with you?”
“She does not eat; she just watches me eat.” Sheng Yunshu wrinkled her nose, her tone carrying a hint of complaint. “She is eating very little lately and has lost a lot of weight. I tell her not to, but she will not listen. When I ask her if she has anything bothering her, she just tells me not to worry about it!”
Shen Zhouxing did not respond, lowering her head to take a sip of coffee.
“What is wrong?” Sheng Yunshu noticed her silence.
“Nothing.” Shen Zhouxing set her cup down and smiled. “I just think your sister is really good to you.”
“That is for sure.”
When Sheng Yunshu said this, her tone carried a kind of self-evident pride, as if Sheng Qingshan being good to her was the most natural thing in the world.
“Alright, I will not argue with you. Let us shoot quickly, otherwise, if President Sheng gets home and does not see you, I will be the one in trouble.”
“Director Shen, you are becoming more charming by the day!”
“Bewitched!”
Sheng Yunshu had thought that this simple and sweet life would continue, until that night.
After drying her hair, Sheng Yunshu had intended to go to bed, but she suddenly wondered if Sheng Qingshan was still awake.
She checked the time: 11:40 PM.
It was very late. If Sheng Qingshan was still working, she was going to lecture her.
Sheng Yunshu tied her robe and walked out in her slippers.
Opening the door, she saw the small wall lamp outside the study was indeed on.
Sheng Yunshu walked over with long strides and knocked on the door as a formality, pushing it open before anyone could answer.
After walking a few steps inside, she found Sheng Qingshan slumped over the table, asleep, with a stack of incomprehensible documents beside her.
Sheng Yunshu walked up to her side and called her name gently, but Sheng Qingshan did not react at all.
Not knowing how many days it had been since she had a good night’s sleep, Sheng Yunshu felt both angry and heartbroken.
Just as she was about to carry her back to the bedroom, the documents on the table scattered due to her movements, so she hurried to crouch down to pick them up.
Sheng Qingshan was awakened by the noise and slowly opened her eyes. They were hazy, but when she saw Sheng Yunshu crouching nearby and the documents in her hand, Sheng Qingshan immediately sobered up.
“Do not look!”
She snatched the document from Sheng Yunshu’s hand while crouching down to pick up the ones on the floor.
But it was too late.
Sheng Yunshu could not understand the foreign languages or technical medical terms, but she recognized “Pheromone Gene Chain Dissociation Syndrome” and “one hundred percent mortality rate.”
She looked at Sheng Qingshan’s nervous expression and, connecting it to her recent unusual behavior, a chill crept up her spine.
“Sister,” she grabbed Sheng Qingshan with trembling hands, her eyes turning red. “It is not true, right? How can there be an incurable disease? You…”
Before she could finish, Sheng Qingshan reached out and pulled her into her arms, her voice hoarse. “Do not be afraid. I have already contacted medical experts from all federations for a consultation. You will be fine; I will not let you die, do not be afraid…”
“Hmm?…”
Hearing her words, Sheng Yunshu stopped crying and pushed her away. “Am I the one who is sick?”
Sheng Qingshan opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
But Sheng Yunshu let out a sigh of relief and held her again.
“You scared me to death; I thought it was you!” Sheng Yunshu felt no despair about her own life coming to an end, only the relief of having survived a disaster. “As long as it is not you, that is fine. As long as it is not you…”
Yet, despite that, she still cried.
The wet sensation felt like a scorching hot iron burning her skin. Sheng Qingshan’s eyes turned red; her throat felt like it was blocked by a lump of damp cotton, and she could not squeeze out a single word, only holding her tightly.
“Yunshu,” she spoke, her voice extremely raspy.
“Hmm?”
“Let go for a moment; let us talk.”
Sheng Yunshu did not let go; instead, she held her even tighter. “No. The way you snatched the document was so fierce; if I let go, you will lecture me again.”
“I will not lecture you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Sheng Yunshu hesitated for a moment, slowly released her hands, stepped back half a step, and looked up at her.
Sheng Qingshan raised a hand to wipe the tear tracks from her face, taking several deep breaths before she could finally speak with difficulty.
“Yunshu, they keep telling me there is no way. I also do not know what to do. Lingyun said that in three weeks, you might need to stay in an isolation pod because, with the massive depletion of white blood cells, a small cold could cost you your life. External pheromones will be even more fatal to you. I…”
Sheng Yunshu did not interrupt her. Like her, she knelt on the floor, her wet eyes quietly watching her.
Watching her shed tears for her for the first time.
“…I do not know how to save you.”
The moment these words were spoken, it was as if all strength had been drained from Sheng Qingshan.
Her shoulders slumped, her spine was no longer straight, and her forehead slowly rested on Sheng Yunshu’s shoulder.
Sheng Yunshu felt the weight on her shoulder, and tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
The mountain that had always shielded her from the wind and rain could not bear the pain of losing her, and it collapsed quietly in the night.
Sheng Qingshan did not allow herself to wallow in her grief; she quickly adjusted, pulled Sheng Yunshu up, and told her to rest early and not stay up late.
“Sister.”
Sheng Yunshu gripped her wrist, looked up at her bloodshot eyes, and suddenly a smile bloomed on her face. She reached out and held her.
“You are tired too. Let us rest together.”
“What?” Sheng Qingshan did not understand what she meant.
“I do not want to sleep alone,” Sheng Yunshu buried her face in her arms and rubbed against her, her voice very soft. “I am scared.”
People are always afraid of dying.
Now, she just wanted to stay with Sheng Qingshan, not leaving her side for even a moment.
Sheng Qingshan froze for a moment, then immediately hugged her back, no longer speaking of maintaining boundaries.
“Okay, let us rest.”
After many years, Sheng Yunshu had not expected that the next time she lay on the same bed as Sheng Qingshan, it would be under these circumstances.
The two lay face to face, looking at each other’s red eyes, with so much they wanted to say but not knowing where to start.
Four months was too short.
It was not even enough to properly say goodbye to someone important.
In the end, it was Sheng Qingshan who raised a hand to cover her eyes. “Sleep. Anything else, we will talk about tomorrow.”
Sheng Yunshu blinked, her eyelashes brushing against her palm, bringing a sense of itchiness.
“Sister, goodnight.”
“Goodnight…”
Early the next morning, as soon as Sheng Qingshan opened her eyes, she saw Sheng Yunshu lying on her side facing her, her eyes even redder than they had been the night before. She did not know when she had woken up.
Or perhaps, she had not slept at all last night.
“Sister, can you promise me one thing?”
Sheng Qingshan touched her face lightly, her voice hoarse. “Yes, whatever you want is fine…”
Holding her hand against her face, Sheng Yunshu’s eyes shimmered with tears.
“Let us get married.”
“This is my final wish.”