Susie nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I'm all good now, healthy. I want to live a normal life, catch up on everything I missed."
Seeing Susie like this was truly heartwarming.
"Great, I support you," I agreed, but still cautiously asked, "Can you understand all these? If not, we can get you a tutor."
"Of course," Susie chuckled, "Felicia, I feel like I got smarter after the heart transplant. I understand all these things at a glance."
I paused for a moment. She rested her on her chest, asking "Felicia, do you think the original owner of this heart was a genius?"
"What are you talking about? Geniuses use their brains, not their hearts," I dismissed her idea.
But deep down, I had felt the same way too.
Still, I didn't want Susie to dwell on such thoughts, to avoid any unnecessary worries.
"You were always smart, your brother said so," I corrected her again.
Susie laughed, "Felicia, I really want to go to college. I want to experience school life."
"Sure!" I showed my support and flipped through the books she was reading. Many pages were marked with notes, and it was clear that these were second-hand books.
Curious, I asked, "Who got you these books? Your brother?"
"No, a friend," Susie said, her gaze slightly evasive.
Sensing something was off, given her innocence, I feared she might have been deceived, so I teased with a smile, "Wow, making friends even while hospitalized? And a positive influence at that, not bad."
"Not really a friend," Susie appeared a bit shy.
I pretended to be confused, "You've lost me."
"It was someone visiting another patient, got lost in their book and ended up in my room by mistake. Scared me at first; I thought it was a burglar. He mentioned he was studying for his PhD..."
Once Susie finished her story, I understood it was a serendipitous meeting.
"It's delicious," I said as I unwrapped the baked pear Ivan gave me and placed it in front of Susie.
She licked her lips and took a sip of the pear juice first, "Wow, it's so sweet."
"Go on, it's good for your throat," I watched her, zoning out.
"Felicia?" Susie waved her hand in front of my eyes.
"Hmm?"
"Felicia, are you sure you and my brother didn't have a fight? You seem so distracted," Susie had a keen sense of noticing the odd.
"No fight, don't worry about..." Before I could finish, there was a knock on the door.
As Susie said, "Come in," the door opened.
The person who walked in left me utterly stunned.
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