My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"AAAAAAH! OW—OW—OUCH!"

One fine morning, even before Shi Nian woke up from her deep slumber, a tragic scream echoed throughout the entire floor. She sat up in shock, her eyes still bleary with drowsiness. Her first reflex was to go out and see what was happening, but when she remembered Xu Binchen's words, she refrained herself and only slid the door open by an inch.

She plastered herself onto the door and peeked outside.

"It hurts! It hurts so much! I am not lying! Give me anesthesia!" She could hear the voice of a young man reverberating through the hallway, followed by the familiar voice of Nurse Li.

"Young Master Nan," Nurse Li spoke patiently. "We gave you some anesthesia for your operation last night. It has surely worn off a bit by now, that's why you feel a bit of pain."

"Then give me more!"

"We can't do that. Please bear it for now, if you can't endure it any longer, feel free to press on the nurse button."

The young man's angry voice sounded closer and closer, mixing with the sound of rattling wheels and distinct footsteps. "Where is the nurse button?! I want to press it now!"

"Young Master Nan…"

Shi Nian could imagine Nurse Li's helpless face as she faced this Young Master Nan. Anyway, judging from their conversation, it looked like another new patient.

Shi Nian was right. The patient who had just come in last night was named Nan Xukun. He was the son of the Conglomerate Nan Cheng who entered the Forbes Top 30 for being the most inspirational figure of the country.

For such an antisocial and introverted person like Shi Nian to know Nan Cheng, it proved how famous he was. How could he not be? Nan Cheng was an orphan who fought his way up the ladder of society until he made his foothold in the upper circle of the riches, his struggle and success had been made into stories and documentaries, every single youngster had once been motivated by him.

Shi Nian too, when she was at her lowest, one of Nan Cheng's sentences had pierced through the gloom and rekindled the light of hope in her. At that time, she was burdened by her job, schoolwork and a nonexistent social life. In short, she was experiencing a rebellious period where she felt unsatisfied with every aspect of herself.

When she rode her bicycle through the city, the billboard on the street was showing one of his interviews.

The interviewer asked him. "Do you have something to say to the people who are struggling with their life right now?"

Nan Cheng smiled. He was a middle aged uncle, but his charisma and looks were top notch. 90% of the pedestrians stopped walking to watch the billboard, including Shi Nian. "Nothing. I know that motivational words are many, just search for some on the internet and there you have it. Whether you read it or I read it for you, it's all the same. What I can say for you is based on what I've experienced."

"Above the sky, there will be another sky. Give up or not, it's your choice. But if you give up at this point, remember that there will be people who will be sad and angry on your behalf. If there isn't any, then you can mourn for yourself."

The interviewer laughed and Nan Cheng chuckled along. "I am not kidding. Everyone can disappoint you but only you will not disappoint yourself. Think back on how much you've gone through to reach this point, can you bear to let go? Can you disappoint yourself? That's all."

It was the only time Shi Nian ever saw Nan Cheng.

He was just so, so far away from her that it felt unreal.

Everyone wished that they could reach Heaven's high, but Shi Nian was different. She never wished to be a billionaire who could summon a helicopter with a wave of her hand. She just wished for stability in life, spending every single day with the people she loved, eating good food, walking down the street under the sunset, inhaling fresh air every morning.

It was enough. Just that simple.

She didn't expect that fate would one day bring Nan Cheng's son in front of her, nor did she expect that they would have further connection.

Until the day when Nan Xukun called out, "Hey! Little meimei[1]!"

Shi Nian didn't react because she felt that she wasn't anyone's sister. Until Nan Xukun's voice grew closer and closer, Shi Nian turned her head, confused.

"Little meimei, why are you ignoring me?"

How to say? The man in front of her was truly…eccentric. He was tall, almost 180 cm with sharp features, thick eyebrows and an aggressive smile. His hair...amidst the black, there were strands of blue, silver, green and gold. It was very colorful. His right arm was slung over his chest with thick bandages over it.

Even when he was clad in hospital gown, it couldn't diminish his unruly presence.

Nan Xukun was grinning as he sat beside her. "Little meimei, what are you looking at so seriously?"

Shi Nian was sitting on the bench in front of the floor to ceiling window as usual, almost dozing off. Every day, she was stipulated to come out and sunbathe for one hour while there were nurses and police officers in civilian clothes who patrolled around.

When a stranger suddenly spoke to her so enthusiastically, the antisocial Shi Nian crashed down. Dumbfounded, she pointed at her nose. Her face had a large question mark on it.

"Yes, I am talking to you!" He chuckled. "What is your name? Which room do you stay in? My name is Nan Xukun, I am in 508!"

He wanted to stretch his right arm out but was obstructed by the knot on his neck. Grimacing in pain, he bared his teeth. "Ah, it hurts. Sorry, I want to shake your hand but it is not possible." He paused. "Then let's use our left hands!"

Just like that, he stretched out his left palm.

Shi Nian was amused and used her left palm too.

Nan Xukun's eyes brightened up and under the sunshine, Shi Nian could see that his eyes weren't black, but dark grey with a ring of green on them. It was a very peculiar yet beautiful color.

After that, Shi Nian hurriedly reached for her board and wrote. [My name is Shi Nian, I stayed in 505!]

The man looked at her board intently, his smile vanishing. "You…can't speak?"

Shi Nian nodded earnestly.

Nan Xukun turned silent.

Somehow, his serious face made Shi Nian's heart thump. Could it be…? Nan Cheng's son, Young Master Nan Xukun, was disgusted with a mute?

"You—" Nan Xukun lifted his head, his left arm reached out and all of a sudden…hugged her shoulder. "I'm sorry! I am so insensitive! I shouldn't have asked that kind of question directly!"

Shi Nian: "…" Dumbstruck.

Nan Xukun was a healthy 18 years old male. Having played around for half of his life, doing extreme sports which caused him to break his arm, he had a strength like a mule. Shi Nian's weak physique couldn't rival him at all. When she was hugged, her balance was thrown off and she fell forward.

Her arms instinctively reached out to stabilize herself and…pressed onto Young Master Nan's injured arm.

Once again, a tragic scream rang out along the hallway.

[1] meimei = sister