Desert Island Girl (Pure Lily) - Chapter 22

Staring blankly at Jiang Ning, who leaned weakly on the bed with a faint smile, Mu Xiaoyang suddenly felt a wave of realization in her heart.

So… Ning didn’t suddenly fall ill—she had been feeling unwell for a while but didn’t tell anyone…

No wonder, when Mu Xiaoyang comforted her, Jiang Ning’s hand felt so warm—it was because she had a fever.

No wonder she seemed so melancholic—she wasn’t lonely; she knew she was sick.

No wonder she wanted Mu Xiaoyang to hold her—she wasn’t being lazy or throwing a tantrum; she was truly struggling to hold on…

Vaguely, various conversations resurfaced in Mu Xiaoyang’s mind.

“Sorry… I’m so useless…”

“Really… can’t you hold me a little longer?”

“Hey! Wait for this young lady!”

…

Damn it!

Clenching her teeth, Mu Xiaoyang wanted to slap herself.

There were so many concerning signs! Why didn’t she notice earlier?

If… she had paid more attention, there could have been better choices at the time…

People constantly made choices throughout their lives—small ones like “What to eat for breakfast?” or “Should I get a fizzy or mild drink?” and big ones like “Which university should I attend?” “Which company should I work for?” or “Should I be with her?”…

Mu Xiaoyang was no exception.

Since she was born, she had made countless choices—including boarding the cruise ship for this trip.

But she always felt that, from childhood to now, she had never made a truly correct decision…

Because of this, she ended up on this deserted island.

Because of this, her closest friend was about to die right in front of her…

She felt deep regret.

She regretted that while she marveled at nature’s beauty, she never considered that this beauty was deadly for the frail Jiang Ning.

She felt deep guilt.

She blamed herself for not noticing Jiang Ning’s condition sooner.

If only she had noticed earlier! Perhaps Jiang Ning wouldn’t have ended up like this!

“Everyone, don’t be sad…”

Seeing the girls’ sorrowful expressions, Jiang Ning forced a faint smile, “This kind of thing… even if you’re sad, there’s no way to change it…”

“How can we not be sad…”

Yi Yun couldn’t hold back anymore.

Hot tears streamed down her face.

She clenched her fists, sobbing, “You knew you were sick, didn’t you? Why… why didn’t you say anything earlier!? Why did you hide it until now!? If… if we could have done something sooner…”

She cried out in anger, but her voice soon weakened—guilt, blame, anger, regret… Faced with this situation, most people would react like Yi Yun and Mu Xiaoyang.

“I couldn’t do that…”

Looking calmly at Yi Yun, Jiang Ning shook her head with a smile, “Sister Yun… because of the necklace, we wasted too much time. I couldn’t keep holding everyone back… If I made you all take care of me, our progress would slow even more. If it rained and we had no shelter, how much of our supplies would we lose…”

“I told you, supplies are for people’s sake. Ning, even if we lost everything, we wouldn’t want to lose you…”

Looking at Jiang Ning sadly, Bai Niao’s eyes were frighteningly red.

She clenched her fists, unable to finish her sentence.

Lin Tingting cried and shook her head, pleading, “Sister Ning… Sister Ning, please don’t die, okay? Please get better soon! Don’t die! Please don’t die…”

Leaning on the bed was too much for Jiang Ning now.

She lay back down, looking at Lin Tingting weakly and with heartache, speaking a bit urgently, “Don’t, don’t cry, Tingting… It’s okay. Your sister can… hold on a bit longer. Please, Tingting… don’t cry. Give your sister… a smile…”

“Mmm… mmm…”

Trying hard to stop crying, Lin Tingting nodded desperately, forcing a smile uglier than her tears.

It was indeed an awful sight—her face had dried bloodstains, her mouth twisted awkwardly, and tears mixed with snot flowed down.

She looked utterly disheveled…

But Jiang Ning smiled contentedly, “Tingting looks prettiest when she smiles… Sorry… I’m probably the most unreliable sister—can’t even promise you something as simple as staying alive… And I got bl00d on your clothes. Sorry…”

“Wah… wahhh… It’s okay! It’s fine! Wah… wahhh…”

Lin Tingting sobbed uncontrollably, shaking her head desperately. She tried to hold back, but her tears kept flowing…

“…”

Having spoken too much, Jiang Ning felt exhausted.

She lay quietly on the bed, her mouth slightly open, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the tent’s ceiling, silently enduring the torment of her illness.

At first, her throat just felt itchy.

Then, when she coughed, there was a bit of bl00d in her saliva.

Later, she started running a fever, feeling weak and struggling to breathe. When she coughed, more and more bl00d came up…

From the moment she started coughing bl00d, Jiang Ning knew she probably wouldn’t make it this time…

“Ning, are you okay?”

Seeing her stare blankly upward, Mu Xiaoyang worried Jiang Ning might become delirious from the fever.

“You have to hold on! Mu Mu and I will go find fever medicine now! We’ll bring your fever down first, then figure out how to treat your coughing bl00d!”

Of course, Mu Xiaoyang wouldn’t just let Jiang Ning die like this!

Even if it only treated the symptoms, she would do everything to prolong Jiang Ning’s life!

Shaking her head weakly, the growing sense of frailty made it hard for Jiang Ning to show any expression.

It was as if her body no longer belonged to her.

She just stared blankly upward, her gaze unfocused, “No need… Xiaoyang, I want fish soup. Can I have fish soup just once? If… you must go, can I… trade the time you’d spend finding medicine for a bowl of fish soup?”

“…”

Remembering how disappointed Jiang Ning looked yesterday when she didn’t get to eat fish, Mu Xiaoyang wanted to stab herself.

Jiang Ning knew she was dying and just wanted a bowl of soup, but Mu Xiaoyang had refused her because of “time constraints”…

She was such a jerk!!

Jiang Ning thought she was doomed and didn’t want everyone to waste time finding medicine. Her cautious wish for fish soup made Mu Xiaoyang’s heart ache…

Tears welled up in her eyes. Mu Xiaoyang nodded firmly, “Okay! No medicine! Ning, rest well first! Mu Mu and I will go catch fish now!”

“…” Jiang Ning gave a relieved smile, looking at Mu Xiaoyang with effort, “Sorry… let me be selfish one last time…”

“It’s not… it’s not selfish… Just rest, and when you wake up, there’ll be fish soup…”

Mu Xiaoyang smiled through her tears.

The shipwreck, the pressure of survival, salvaging supplies, and now facing death—she felt her sanity was reaching its limit!

And the more rational a person was, the worse their breakdown often became…

Pulling Bai Niao along and instructing Yi Yun and Lin Tingting, Mu Xiaoyang prepared to go catch fish.

Of course, she wouldn’t skip looking for medicine.

With two people, one could catch fish while the other searched for medicine—she just didn’t need to say it and worry Jiang Ning.

As she turned to leave, Jiang Ning suddenly spoke weakly, “Everyone…”

“What’s wrong, Ning?”

The girls quickly gathered around her.

Her gentle gaze swept over each one—Mu Xiaoyang… Bai Niao… Sister Yun… Tingting…

Looking at them, Jiang Ning felt genuine happiness in her heart.

She memorized each of their faces, her lips slightly curling into a weak smile, “Can you… call me one more time? I… I’m afraid if I fall asleep, I’ll never hear it again… I… like that nickname…”

“…”

The girls’ eyes stung painfully! Tears surged like a river!

They looked at each other, unable to hold back their red-rimmed sobs.

Lin Tingting even cried out loud with a “wah wah.”

They stood around Jiang Ning, lowering their heads to wipe their tears, and choked out in unison, “Ning!”

“…”

Lying quietly on the bed, Jiang Ning closed her eyes.

She smiled, nodding contentedly, as two clear tears slowly slid from the corners of her eyes…