The hospital was too unfamiliar, with a dozen buildings clustered together. Qin Fang couldn't even find the inpatient department of the respiratory medicine. He ran back and forth a couple of times, and finally asked two information desks before finding the ward.

He was still panting heavily when he ran in. Qin Fang saw Gong Qi, and also saw Si Tu lying on the hospital bed.

Gong Qi wasn't crying, but her eyes were swollen.

Si Tu had an oxygen mask on his face, with his blood pressure and heart rate being monitored, and an IV drip in his hand. Si Tu's eyes were closed, sleeping very quietly.

Gong Qi spoke to Qin Fang in a low voice. Qin Fang took a few deep breaths to steady his breathing.

"He told me not to say anything, to wait until after he was gone to make the call. But I..." Gong Qi lightly covered her face with both hands, saying softly, "But I was too panicked. I didn't know if listening to him was the right thing to do. I should respect his wishes, but I also felt that would be too cruel."

Qin Fang patted her, not saying anything, silently comforting her.

He looked at Si Tu on the hospital bed. Even now he still felt dazed. His face was as white as paper, his brows were slightly furrowed, and he was probably feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Qin Fang looked at him without blinking, not turning his head. "How did it come to this?"

"The fever," Gong Qi also looked at Si Tu, her voice slightly hoarse. "Just one cold and it turned out like this. His body was already in terrible shape, unable to withstand even a single cold."

Everyone had always known Si Tu was in poor health - coughing badly, unable to do heavy work, getting out of breath after exerting himself. Qin Fang had always thought he just had regular pneumonia, a weaker body, not as healthy as others, nothing more.

But it definitely shouldn't have reached the point where a cold could take his life.

"He could still talk the day before yesterday, chatting a lot with me." Gong Qi's voice was soft, still not crying. "He said he was a bit tired, wanting to spend his last few days quietly, so he didn't want to let people know. I don't know if he will wake up again, if he would blame me if he woke up and saw you."

Qin Fang glanced back at her and said, "He won't."

Gong Qi said, "We talked about you. I asked him who he wanted to tell. He mentioned you. I was quite surprised, even double checked with him. He said he wanted to tell you, that you were friends, and you were different from others."

Qin Fang looked at Si Tu and grunted in acknowledgment.

Besides Si Tu lying on the bed, only Gong Qi and Qin Fang were in the hospital.

Gong Qi had made the call too late.

Han Xiaogong would take over three hours to reach the nearest airport at the earliest, with flights only in the evening. Xing Yan was on the other side of the earth. Zhou Siming had also gone abroad for an exchange after the new year.

When Gong Qi made the calls, Qin Fang was the only one who could arrive the fastest.

Qin Fang stood by the bed, looking at Si Tu, asking softly, "You did this on purpose? Choosing a time like this, aren't you afraid they will hate you?"

Interstitial pneumonia. Si Tu had struggled to live with it for so many years. He had already tried his best.

He had been sick since he was very young. Later, he got really tired. He was constantly drinking Chinese medicine, taking medication like meals. Si Tu was very thin. He used to look delicate, but later became overly thin, making him look very pale.

This devastating blow from the cold seemed like an accident, but was also inevitable. His respiratory and immune systems could barely hold on anymore. His lungs, fibrotic with lesions, had dragged him down.

Gong Qi said, "I feel relieved for him now. He can finally rest."

Zhou Siming was in the air, Xing Yan was waiting for a flight at the airport, and Han Xiaogong was still in transit.

The critical illness notice had been issued. It could be this second, or the next. But Si Tu persisted, remaining unconscious, breathing with great difficulty.

The nurses came to check on him from time to time, changing his medication. There was regret in the eyes of the doctors and nurses, but they had already seen too much life and death.

Qin Fang hoped Si Tu could hold on a little longer, until one more person returned.

Si Tu woke up for a bit in the afternoon.

Gong Qi leaned over to talk to him, asking where he felt uncomfortable, if he wanted to eat something.

Si Tu saw Qin Fang, raising his eyebrows very slightly, then smiling at him.

Qin Fang stood at the foot of the bed, also smiling at him, patting his leg over the blanket.

Si Tu pointed at the oxygen mask on his face, indicating to take it off. Gong Qi hesitated a little. Si Tu reached over wanting to remove it himself, so Gong Qi reached out and took it off.

Si Tu was breathing heavily. He tried to control his breaths to be longer. He looked at Gong Qi, eyes carrying a faint smile, saying to her, "Not listening..."

He spoke very softly, with some difficulty.

Gong Qi said to him, "I'm sorry... I just panicked."

Si Tu was still gentle, just waving his hand, saying to her, "Don't panic, you're a big girl now."

Gong Qi's eyes were a bit red. She raised her hand, waving the red string on her wrist at him. Qin Fang saw that Si Tu also had one on his hand. Si Tu looked at Gong Qi and smiled. He was always smiling.

Si Tu's coughing sounded very muffled. After coughing, his expression was still calm.

Qin Fang sat by his bed, talking to him softly, asking, "Wait a bit longer?"

Si Tu still waved his hand, joking with a smile, "I finally... found the right timing."

Qin Fang also laughed, saying, "You really aren't afraid they will hate you."

Si Tu first breathed calmly a few times, then said, "...They will inevitably hate me."

Qin Fang didn't say anything. Si Tu said, "None of us like goodbyes."

Talking was too taxing for him, so he tried to shorten his sentences, saying them slowly one by one.

"Like this, waiting for them to return... Once gone is gone. They will hate; everyone hates. One more hating me makes no difference." He laughed after saying that.

The nurse came to give him a nebulizer treatment. Si Tu waved his hand to refuse.

Si Tu didn't stay awake for long, quickly falling asleep again.

Before he closed his eyes again, Qin Fang asked Gong Qi, "Do you have a pen?"

Gong Qi took out a pen from her bag and gave it to Qin Fang.

Qin Fang quickly drew something on his own palm, then went over and held Si Tu's hand. Si Tu's hand was tightly gripped by him, their palms pressed together. Si Tu's hand was ice cold, Qin Fang's hand was burning hot.

Si Tu glanced at their hands, panting and laughing, "You better not be... confessing to me. I can only refuse. Don't blame me for being heartless... I'm powerless to do otherwise."

Qin Fang also laughed a little. Even Gong Qi laughed.

Qin Fang grasped his hand, squeezing it tightly before letting go. Si Tu's palm was imprinted with the shape from Qin Fang's palm. Qin Fang said to him, "Giving you a star. Follow it as you go. There is light ahead, don't be afraid."

"...Okay." Si Tu was still smiling, closing his eyes and squeezing his hand.

Gong Qi stood by Si Tu's bedside, touched his face, and put the ventilator back on him. Qin Fang's eyes asked if she had anything else to say, and Gong Qi gently shook her head.

They were always smiling when they spoke, no one was saying goodbye in sorrow.

In the end, Si Tu didn't wait for anyone, he never opened his eyes again. He didn't see anyone else.

It's hard to say whether seeing him one last time is more cruel, or if this is more cruel.

When all the instruments and tubes were removed from his body, Gong Qi still cried. She didn't wail in agony, just squatted by Si Tu's bed and shed silent tears. Qin Fang had no time to cry, there was too much to do. When truly facing death, someone always has to stay clear-headed.

Although this feels like a dream, someone needs to continue carrying it through to the end.

Gong Qi also didn't cry for too long, her eyes were badly swollen, but she also soberly did what she had to do.

She brought everything that needed to be brought, and Si Tu had changed his clothes in advance while he was still conscious, no longer wearing the hospital gown. He had said he didn't want to wear a suit, just an ordinary set of clothes would do.

Gong Qi brought everything, they calmly handled it all, the ward was so peaceful it was as if nothing had happened.

Si Tu had always been very dignified, he seemed like someone who would never lose his temper, always gentle and composed. So Qin Fang protected his composure, with him there even Gong Qi wasn't very flustered.

By the time the body was transferred from the hospital to the funeral home, the sky had turned completely dark. It had been a sunny day, with the sun scorching everything. At night, the air still retained that undispersed heat; looking up, he saw the sky was full of stars.

After everything was temporarily settled, Qin Fang finally let himself stand in the small open space and take a few long breaths.

He stood a bit stiffly, he had just experienced a farewell.

At their age, there are still many lucky people who have never experienced a farewell. But Qin Fang had, he was still young when his mother left, and there were no stars in the sky the night his grandfather left.

Xing Yan and the others had also experienced it, and afterwards they no longer had a home.

They always said they merely grew up tied together, but that was just to fool people. They grew up in that house, and then left one by one. They each had their own lives, but their roots were always intertwined.

Qin Fang looked up at the stars in the sky, then slowly closed his eyes--

Today, my beloved boy lost his last friend.