Melody was already over thirty. Although her Chinese wasn't particularly fluent, she could still see through this little trick.
With the resignation of a broken pot, she pretended not to see the old professor's ploy and retreated outside the ward.
Inside, the old professor told Lu Qingxu that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physiotherapy wouldn't be very helpful for her condition, as the cancer cells were still spreading. He advised them to schedule the surgery as soon as possible.
She hadn't held much hope for TCM physiotherapy to begin with, but after a period of treatment, seeing Melody suffer so much, lose so much hair, and yet see no improvement, it was hard not to feel disappointed.
Emerging from inside, although Lu Qingxu tried his best to conceal his emotions, Melody, who spent every day with him, could naturally see something from his eyes.
In an instant, that feeling of deep despair about life and finding the treatment so pointless returned.
Melody had initially done it all for Lu Qingxu, but now, she didn't want to anymore.
She still didn't want to face herself every day in the hospital, hooked up to IV drips and injections, with a bald head, no breasts, unable to ever have children, and perpetually sickly.
She knew her time was running out, and she truly wished to spend the remaining days in that manner.
She also didn't want Lu Qingxu to force a smile in front of her forever.
Even more so, she didn't want him to eventually be left alone after having sacrificed so much for her, only for her to pass away.
She started to give up on herself again, feeling that their relationship had been a mistake from the beginning.
She hated her current state.
She hated the guilt she felt when facing Lu Qingxu.
She wanted to escape again.
Even though there might be risks, just like last time, and even though she had no idea where she could go.
Yet, she had an urgent desire to leave this place.
After leaving the hospital, Lu Qingxu drove, and she sat in the passenger seat.
Just like when they first met, they listened to music, one quietly looking ahead, the other quietly looking out the window, their hands intertwined.
Melody felt Lu Qingxu's warmth. After half an hour of internal debate, she pointed to a large supermarket by the roadside and asked him to stop.
"I want a tiramisu and an iced Americano. Can you go buy it for me?"
She hadn't indulged herself with food freely for a long time, always following doctor's orders.
Next, he had to persuade her to undergo surgery, so Lu Qingxu needed to appease her.
"Okay, I'll let you indulge today. You can eat whatever you want."
Taking a few turns, the car was about to enter the underground parking lot. At the entrance, Melody got out.
"I don't want to go in. The scenery here is quite nice, and I want to enjoy the breeze. Go and come back quickly, I'll wait for you here."
Her expression was relaxed, and she seemed unaware of what the doctor had said, appearing no different from usual. Lu Qingxu found no reason to refuse her.
He took her hand and kissed it.
"I'll be back soon, don't wander off, just wait for me."
It took several minutes to find a parking spot on the third basement level, and another ten-plus minutes to shop. By the time he drove out again, despite his haste, it had been half an hour in total.
Half an hour was enough time for Melody to have gone far.
As soon as Lu Qingxu entered the parking lot, she put on her sunglasses and quickly walked to the roadside to hail a taxi.
The driver asked where she was going as he drove, and she replied, "Just drive."
Then she asked, "Driver, do you have a needle in your car?"
"A needle? What kind of needle?"
"My SIM card is loose, and I want to take it out and reinsert it."
The driver actually had one.
He gave her a sewing kit.
Melody took out her SIM card, broke it, rolled down the window, and threw it away. The driver saw her throw the card away in the rearview mirror, looking somewhat surprised.
After all, young people nowadays relied on mobile payments. Without a phone, how would she pay herself later?
"Miss, what are you doing?"
Melody had lived abroad for a long time and still retained the habit of using cash. Therefore, Lu Qingxu had prepared a wallet for her, which always contained about 2,000 yuan in cash.
She pulled out a bill and handed it to the driver.
"I forgot my ID card, but I want to leave here now. What's the best way to leave?"
Without an ID card, wanting to use public transportation? Nothing would be more suitable than a taxi.
The driver volunteered, "Where do you want to go? I'll drive you there."
If the destination was very far, the taxi fare would be too high for Melody to afford.
She only had less than 2,000 yuan left, and she couldn't go without eating afterward, could she?
The driver looked at her attire and demeanor, and she didn't seem like someone lacking money.
Between throwing away her phone card and wanting to go out of town, he guessed she must have broken up with someone and was in a bad mood.
Young people these days, on impulse, would go on a spontaneous trip.
"Then take a bus. We won't go into the station. I'll buy a scalped ticket outside. It won't be much more expensive, and they don't require ID."
Melody didn't understand what he was talking about, but not needing an ID card was very tempting for her.
She handed the driver another 100 yuan. "Go and help me get settled and make sure I get on the bus. This 100 yuan is for you."
With such a good deal, the driver was more than happy to oblige.
In about ten minutes, he brought her to the outside of the long-distance bus station and told her to wait in the car.
"Where do you want to go? I'll get the ticket for you."
Melody didn't know where she was going either; she hadn't decided yet.
Seeing her deep in thought, the driver looked out the window.
"How about Qingcheng? The climate there is the opposite of here. It's cold there now, you could go to cool down and clear your head. It's just a bit high in altitude, though. Will you get altitude sickness?"
Whether she got altitude sickness or not, it was good that someone was helping her think of a destination.
Melody said expressionlessly, "Go there."
The driver ran out for about ten minutes and came back, panting.
"I've made arrangements. The fare is 480 yuan. Give me 500, and I'll get the ticket for you right away."
By the time Lu Qingxu returned from the supermarket and called her, Melody was already on a bus bound for Qingcheng.
The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month was approaching, another long holiday, another small peak travel season. The bus was quite crowded.
Melody, smelling the various scents in the bus, listening to the noisy chatter, and watching the endless highway outside the window, sank into a state of emptiness.
The bus stopped and started, and she dozed off and woke up by the window, quickly passing the day.
The next day at noon, the bus arrived at a county in Jiangcheng, over six hundred kilometers away from Nancheng. The driver stopped at a service area, letting everyone get off to rest and use the restroom.
Melody hadn't gotten off before, but when she did, she realized the weather had already changed.
Before even reaching Qingcheng, the temperature was much lower than in Nancheng.
She was wearing a black belted shirt dress when she left Nancheng. As soon as she got off, goosebumps instantly appeared all over her body.
Other passengers lamented the drop in temperature, but they were well-prepared and took out their jackets.
Melody's phone was unusable. From the conversations of others, she learned that the highest temperature in Qingcheng was only sixteen degrees, and it was even lower at night. They would need to rent military coats for the scenic spots at night.
She didn't want to go any further.
Her wallet didn't allow her to visit scenic spots or buy new clothes. She just wanted to find a place to lie low quietly.