Healing

In the previous chapter, Ai Yue was diagnosed with peptic ulcers. 

After the whole situation with her friends and diagnosis, she decided to distract herself. Be it reading or creating a book, she wanted to distract herself from all of this. 

On a Friday, she came home after staying at the dormitory. As she entered the house, her family surprised her. "SURPRISE!", everyone shouted. She was startled but was very much touched by their actions. Then, everyone started to sing the birthday song. 

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to Ai Yue! Happy Birthday to you!", everyone in her family sang. Ai Yue blew out the candles and looked at everyone. She was so happy to see everyone. Her brother, who was in the military, took leave just for her birthday. Her sister, who is married, took leave as well and brought her son with her as well. Her husband was there as well. Usually, the siblings would take leave for each other's birthday. But, in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult with the amount of work that her sister has to do at her own company as the CEO And, for her brother, it was only recently that he could not celebrate their birthdays together as he was stuck in the military. 

Ai Yue looked at everyone as tears started falling, "I am really happy to see everyone, it feels like we haven't had a family gathering in a while…Thank you for making this special for me." 

"We know what you are going through and want to let you know we are behind you supporting you throughout your journey." Her mother smiled at her daughter.

"Let's cut the cake!" Her brother clapped his hands.

As they were eating the cake, the siblings started talking about what they did when they were younger.

"Remember, when we were younger, we celebrated our birthdays together as a family? It was the best time of our lives and it's saddening that we drifted because of how busy we all are..." Ai Yue's sister said while holding onto her wine glass. 

They start reminiscing about the days when they were younger. 

The year was 2016. The children of Hans were 14, 16, and 19 respectively. They would usually host surprise parties for each sibling. On each sibling's birthday, the other siblings will decorate the place and make a surprise party for them. Even though each sibling had school, they still took time out of their day to create a birthday party for them, even if there was no one attending the birthday party. 

"You know, you need to get a boyfriend soon Ai Yue." her brother joked.

"Are you trying to rub salt in my wound?" Ai Yue glared at him.

"I mean, you wouldn't know if you try?" he smiled.

Well, he wasn't wrong. Ai Yue never tried making friends with guys. Her friend group consisted of mostly girls and most were still single. 

"There is no need to hurry! She will find someone one day!" Her mother exclaimed.

After the party, Ai Yue went back to her room to record her thoughts in her journal.

"Dear Journal,

I am so happy today! My busy siblings came back! Ever since my sister and brother started being busy, I have not gotten the chance to spend more time with them anymore, especially since they had partners. Even though we are very busy with our lives, when we are together, we are never awkward with one another. We talk about everything. I am so glad that they came back to celebrate my birthday. 

I should also get myself together. I need to heal from my peptic ulcers. It is painful and I am suffering but I think I can handle it. All the best to myself.

Love, 

Ai Yue"

Ai Yue yawned and crawled into bed. The next morning, her stomach still hurt and she was feeling nauseous. Very nauseous. Before coming back from the clinic, her doctor prescribed her Motilium pills. "Take it when you need it." These were the words that she was left with from her doctor. After eating the pills, Ai Yue started to cry again. Her head feels so cloudy and she doesn't know how to stop her mind from thinking elsewhere. What should she do to stop this pain? This pain was so unbearable. It felt like knives being pierced through a body a thousand times. Ai Yue was going through psychological and physical pain. 

She went to school as usual but was unable to eat cold and spicy foods. She was alone. As she sat alone in the canteen, three girls came out of nowhere and sat beside her. 

"Hi Ai Yue, let's eat together!"

Ai Yue looks at them while looking down, "Sure…" She was very shocked that the girls would like to eat with her. As she was isolated in class, she was getting lonely. Ling Xiao, one of the girls, popped the question, "Where are your friends? We haven't seen you hanging out with them for almost a week. Ning Xue and Yun Xia, the other two, looked at Ai Yue. Ai Yue was trying very hard to hold in her tears. She never wanted to cry in a public space. But, tears started flowing down Ai Yue's rosy cheeks. Ning Xue hands her tissues, "Ai Yue, it is okay to cry it out, we were worried seeing you holding it in…" 

After letting go of her floodgates, Ai Yue looked at the three of them and began talking about what happened, from beginning to end. The more Ai Yue talked about it, the more the three of them got disgusted at how the three friends bullied and outcasted her from the group. How is it possible that all these could happen within a span of a night? "This is outrageous! How could they do such a thing?", Yun Xia furiously slammed the table which caught the attention of the students surrounding them. 

"I never thought there would be people who would do such a thing to a classmate like you! Don't worry Ai Yue, we have your back!", Ling Xiao placed her arms around Ai Yue's shoulders.

From this point forward, these friends would be the friends she would spend most of her time with.