Chapter 102 Do You Want a Lollipop?
Ji Naitang stared at Cen Muqi. He didn’t think that Cen Muqi would hear him or respond to him after he heard him.
Cen Muqi pushed Feng Yan, who was in a wheelchair, a few steps over in Ji Naitang’s direction. He asked, “Where did your mom go? Was that your mom I just saw?”
Ji Naitang nodded. Cen Muqi looked curiously at him. He was probably a child about ten years old. It was very strange that he had such a quiet gaze.
“Why are you sad? Is it too boring staying in the hospital?”
“I miss my brother.”
“Where’s your brother?”
Ji Naitang’s eyes sank with grief. He shook his head. Cen Muqi could probably guess what this meant.
“You’re still young. You still have a long time to live. It will be very hard if you’re always so sad.”
“I don’t like a life like this. I don’t want to live.”
“But only if you live can you meet better people and things. It’s very easy to die, but there’s nothing after death. You won’t be able to experience anything sour, sweet, bitter, or spicy.”
“There won’t be anything sweet for me. There’s only bitterness.”
When Ji Moyu was alive, he thought that getting along with his brother was sweet. But now that Ji Moyu was gone, what else was sweet in his life?
“Why would you think that? How old are you that you think that everything is all bitter?”
Cen Muqi had never met a child like this before, but he didn’t think it was hard for him to understand him. That was because Cen Muqi’s mother, Feng Yan, had tried to commit suicide a while ago. She was sent to hospital and it took a long time for her condition to stabilize.
At that time, she was afraid that they would stop her, so she hadn’t paid attention when she slit her wrist. She fell down the stairs and now her left leg was broken. She had been in the hospital for more than two months now.
Cen Muqi looked at Feng Yan. Although she was saved, she had depression, so she was listless all over. She was in about the same situation as this child in front him. She took everything so hard.
“What’s your name?” Cen Muqi asked Ji Naitang. He didn’t receive a reply and said, “If you feel that life is too bitter, you can try to eat something sweet.”
Ji Naitang stared at him. He could feel that the boy in front of him was trying to make him happy, just like when Ji Moyu had tried to coax Ji Naitang when he was unhappy.
“Naitang.”
My name is Ji Naitang.
Cen Muqi smiled and said, “Milk candy is indeed sweet, but I don’t have any right now.***”
[Cen Muqi misheard the “Nai” in Ji Naitang’s name as “milk,” so he thought Ji Naitang wanted “milk candy.” (“Tang” means “sweet” or “candy.”)]
He touched his pocket and pulled out a lollipop. He handed it to Ji Naitang and said, “I have a lollipop. Do you want a lollipop?”
Ji Naitang reached out to take the lollipop. Cen Muqi said, “You’ll understand after you grow up. A lot of miserable experiences will pass in the end. But the premise is to live. Only if you live can you make yourself live better. You don’t need to get rid of all the bitterness because they were all experiences.”
Then he smiled. “Maybe you don’t understand because you’re still a kid. It’s okay. Just eat something sweet after feeling bitter. Don’t always think about dying. If you die, no one will think about your brother. How lonely would your brother be?”
“But I can’t see him if I’m alive.”
“In your dreams. If you live a good life, your brother will come see you in your dreams. If you die, he wouldn’t be able to find you and you wouldn’t be able to see him.”
Ji Naitang clutched the candy in his hands tightly. He thought about it and said, “Then I want to live.”
“That’s good.”
Cen Muqi turned to look at Feng Yan, who hadn’t spoken a word. He muttered, “How many people want to live, but can’t? So, those of us who can live have to live a good life.”