From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

Upon hearing this, Su Qing smiled faintly.

But my heart was still in turmoil, and my mind was still agonizing over whether or not to tell her that the Terra line had been approved.

Tell her that, and she'll be happy for a while.

But once those words are spoken, there's no time left to comfort her.

When the truth is revealed, the disappointment will only be more intense.

I sat on the edge of the bed, preoccupied, my expression unconsciously showing a hint of melancholy.

"Why are you frowning? What are you thinking about?" Su Qing keenly noticed that something was wrong with me.

I snapped out of my daze, composed myself slightly, and came up with an excuse:

"While you were having surgery, I was checking the backend and saw a fan's message. After reading it, I felt really heavy-hearted."

"What kind of message?" Su Qing immediately became interested.

I took out my phone, opened the message, and showed the screen to her.

Su Qing propped herself up slightly and slowly read through the long passage. Her eyes gradually reddened, and she gently sniffed.

"He's only eighteen years old, and he's an athlete... Just reading his words, you can imagine how unwilling he is to accept this. It's so heartbreaking."

She spoke softly, then looked up at me and said, "Have you managed to contact him? I think we can try our best to help him fulfill his wish."

"That's what I was thinking too, and I've already sent him a private message," I said, nodding.

"Did he reply to the message?" Su Qing asked anxiously.

I shook my head gently, a wave of helplessness washing over me, and let out a long sigh:

"There has been no reply. My message has disappeared without a trace. I left this comment two days ago, and I've been worried sick ever since... I'm afraid he'll never see my message again."

Su Qing lowered her head and thought for a few seconds, then reached out and gently squeezed my fingers, saying:

"Go check his account profile and see if he left any clues. Even if you make contact, you don't necessarily have to bring him with you. At least listen carefully to what he really wants, and help him if you can."

I nodded, and then opened the boy's profile page.

The homepage is clean and uncluttered, with no posts or updates.

It's as if I registered temporarily, just to leave behind that desperate message, and then I fell completely silent.

A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped me. Reality can be so cruel sometimes. You want to reach out, but you don't even know where the other person is.

Just as I was about to put my phone away, a message notification suddenly went off with a "ding".

My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately opened the message interface.

The message came from the very boy I had just been worried about.

[I saw it... Thank you, Ye-ge. I really didn't expect you to reply.]

Before I could even type a reply, a second message popped up:

[Brother Ye, I just went for chemotherapy and got my phone back, so I didn't see your message right away.]

In an instant, an indescribable joy welled up in my heart.

I can't explain why I'm so concerned about a complete stranger.

Perhaps it was the resentment and longing hidden in his comment that struck a chord with me.

At that moment, a very strong thought arose in my mind.

I want to see this boy in person.

I stared at the two lines of messages that popped up on my phone screen, and only then did my heart slowly settle down.

Thankfully, he's still alive.

I quickly typed a reply: "It's okay, you should rest well and cooperate with the treatment."

After the message was sent, the screen was quiet for a short while before another message from the boy popped up.

"Actually, I didn't have any hope at all, thinking you probably wouldn't see that comment. I lay in bed at night, unable to sleep because of the pain, and my mind kept replaying the images of you crossing the no-man's-land. I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I just typed those words out."

As I was reading it word by word, Su Qing beside me turned her head and whispered, "Did he reply?"

I nodded slightly to her, my hands continuing to reply to the boy's messages:

"Don't be so negative. No matter how difficult the situation is, you must accept treatment and leave yourself some hope."

But the boy's reply came quickly, his words filled with a sense of powerlessness in the face of reality.

"It's no use, it's already stage three. I'm willing to cooperate with the treatment, but I don't want my parents to be too heartbroken. I really can't bear to see them spending so much money on me anymore."

Even through a cold screen, I could almost feel the torment and struggle in his heart.

Before I could even type out words of comfort, another message arrived.

"Brother Ye, I'm telling you this not to gain any sympathy. I used to be a very outgoing person. I practiced track and field and was a member of the school basketball team. I was always in great physical condition and won many awards in the school sports meet. A year ago, I was diagnosed with a serious illness and have been undergoing treatment on and off ever since. Of course, I want to live a good life, but my body is no longer under my own control."

After reading this long passage, my heart felt like it was being blocked by a heavy stone, making me feel suffocated.

Seeing that I looked unwell, Su Qing quickly pressed me for details: "What did he tell you? What illness does he have? He's so young, you should persuade him to get proper treatment."

I nodded to Su Qing, then carefully typed out a line: "Excuse me for asking, what illness do you have? How did it develop to such a serious stage?"

A few seconds later, three words popped up on the screen: "Leukemia".

The moment I saw those three words, my whole body stiffened, and my heart tightened abruptly.

Leukemia, combined with the stage three he mentioned, means that the time left for this young man is running out.

I stared at the screen, momentarily at a loss for words to comfort myself; my mind went completely blank.

It wasn't until a new message came through that I was pulled out of my daze.

"My biggest dream in this life is to go to the plateau and see the real wilderness with my own eyes. I have fantasized countless times about being like you, carrying a backpack and walking freely, without being confined to a hospital bed and accompanied by medicine and needles all day long. But reality is cruel. Now I can't even bear to get out of bed and walk a few more steps."

A feeling of oppressive frustration welled up in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

The boy who once raced across the track and sweated it out on the basketball court is now confined to a hospital room, relying on other people's videos to fantasize about distant mountains and wilderness.

I looked up, took a deep breath, turned to Su Qing beside me, and said, "It's leukemia, and it's already in the late stage."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing was visibly stunned, her brows furrowing tightly.

She reached out her hand, the one without the IV needle, and gently grasped my palm, whispering, "It's such a pity."