Short heartfelt story: Love and Sacrifice
They were an ordinary couple living in the city of Wuhan. The husband, Xu Jie, worked in Hanyang, while his wife, Qiu Huizhen, worked in Optics Valley. One worked in the east of the city, and the other in the west. To meet each other, they had to take a two-hour bus ride. The ordinary days and the bright sunshine would sway along with the bus ride…
Then one day, Qiu Huizhen, who had a rare blood type known as “Panda Blood” (RH-negative), was diagnosed with leukemia. The cost of a blood transfusion for her was several times higher than for others. They soon exhausted all their savings. Xu Jie, determined to save her, took out his long-neglected guitar and began his journey of singing on the streets to raise money for her treatment. His sorrowful yet determined songs echoed through the streets.
But Qiu Huizhen refused to be a burden. On August 30, 20XX, she quietly stopped taking her medication and turned the air conditioner to full blast during the night, leading to a lung infection that ended her life. Xu Jie discovered her farewell note in her QQ space: “You stood by your responsibility, and I did not fail in love. I am grateful for all the beauty in life. In the next life, I will never let go of your hand again…”
A Simple “Long-Distance Relationship” That Swayed Along the Bus
In July 20XX, misfortune opened a crack in their lives.
On July 5, Qiu Huizhen began feeling unwell. The next day, Xu Jie accompanied her to Wuhan Union Hospital for an examination. The results were devastating—she was diagnosed with M2-type leukemia.
A few days earlier, Xu Jie had just lost his job. On June 8, while working at Haier’s Wuhan Industrial Park, Xu Jie was instructed by his superiors to clock in all the attendance cards for his entire shift. However, this was discovered by the company’s headquarters in Qingdao, and Xu Jie was dismissed on June 11. He was frustrated, as he had only been following orders to save time for work, but now he was taking all the blame. He had worked diligently for years, recently promoted and receiving a salary increase, only to have it all end abruptly. While Xu Jie and Qiu Huizhen were still trying to resolve the situation, Qiu Huizhen was diagnosed with leukemia. The doctor explained that due to her RH-negative blood type, her blood transfusions would be more expensive than for other patients. If she needed a bone marrow transplant, they would have to prepare over one million yuan, with an initial payment of 170,000 yuan.
The world fell silent. Xu Jie read and re-read the diagnosis. Qiu Huizhen leaned quietly against his arm, saying nothing. Trembling, Xu Jie put his arms around her. Her long hair covered her eyes, and he could feel her shaking and crying. Unable to hold back his own tears, Xu Jie embraced her tightly, saying, “It’s okay, I’m here…” With no job, a sick wife, and a 21-month-old son, Xu Jie felt like his world was collapsing.
Raising Money and a Dire Diagnosis
Xu Jie quickly gathered all the money from their bank accounts and called friends and relatives for help. They managed to scrape together the initial payment, but more problems soon followed. Union Hospital wasn’t covered by their insurance, and each treatment cycle cost 150,000 yuan. After a week, the doctors were still unsure of the exact prognosis—whether it was high risk or medium risk. Desperate, on July 13, Xu Jie transferred his wife to Wuhan University’s Zhongnan Hospital. On the day of the transfer, Qiu Huizhen was weak, lying in the ambulance, gazing at the sunshade fabric rattling against the window. It was a cold evening, and she softly touched Xu Jie’s hand, “Do you remember when we first met? You were singing on stage. I thought you looked so handsome. I never expected you didn’t have a girlfriend.”
Xu Jie broke down in tears. His memories turned sepia in his mind.
It was early summer in 20XX. At a Labor Day party at the technical school auditorium in Yangluo, Wuhan, Xu Jie performed a song—“Love Like Tides” by Jeff Chang. Seated to the side, Xu Jie could see the students waiting in line to enter, led by a girl in a floral dress, who gazed at him with admiration.
Inspired by her gaze, Xu Jie sang with more passion.
After the performance, the girl ran to pull the curtain on the side of the stage. Xu Jie quickly greeted her, “Hi, I’m Xu Jie from the Mechanical Department. What about you?” She turned and crisply replied, “Electronics and Information, Qiu Huizhen!”
Her clear, sharp voice echoed in Xu Jie’s heart for the entire night. The next day, Xu Jie saw Qiu Huizhen running on the track with a girl from his class. Despite wearing leather shoes, he joined them on the track. Just as he was about to greet her, a boy suddenly called out from the basketball court, “Have you eaten? Same place as usual!” Qiu Huizhen smiled, shaking her ponytail. Xu Jie’s heart sank. Of course, a girl so beautiful couldn’t possibly be single. He quietly followed behind her for two laps before leaving. A month later, they graduated. After the graduation ceremony, Xu Jie was added to a QQ group of their class. He found Qiu Huizhen’s QQ number, added her, opened her QQ profile, but couldn’t muster the courage to say a word. Everything seemed too awkward.
They lost touch for five years. During that time, he occasionally heard that she was working at Wuhan Zhudian Company in Optics Valley, first as a quality inspector, then in the human resources department. Xu Jie, meanwhile, worked at Haier’s Wuhan Industrial Park in Hanyang. He often thought of her, standing tall and beautiful at the side of the stage. If time could turn back, he would have competed for her attention against that boy.
One day in 20XX, out of the blue, Qiu Huizhen messaged him on QQ, introducing a friend who was looking for work. After some chatting, she casually asked, “Xiao Jie, have you found a girlfriend yet?” “Are you offering to introduce me to someone?” “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.” Thrilled, Xu Jie half-jokingly replied, “Why don’t you just make do with me?”
The next day, Xu Jie took a bus from Hanyang to Optics Valley, meeting her in a small street for dinner. The street was bustling with food stalls selling kebabs, octopus balls, rice noodles—one stall after another. Qiu Huizhen was as joyful as a child, pulling him along, buying food as they walked. Amid the steam and noise of the street, Xu Jie couldn’t help but ask, “You’re so sweet; how could anyone bear to leave you?” She looked puzzled. After a long conversation, Xu Jie finally realized that the boy on the basketball court had been the boyfriend of one of their classmates, Zheng Jiao. Qiu had been helping to reconcile their relationship. He had misunderstood everything.
Xu Jie never understood why it was so easy to win Qiu Huizhen’s heart. He believed she liked him too, though she never said it directly. Whenever he asked, she would hit him playfully, “Who likes you? You’re as dumb as a log!” “If I hadn’t taken you in, you’d be single for life!” Her eyes would sparkle with laughter.
A Heartbreaking Journey to Save His Wife
They married on December 5, 20XX. One lived in the east, the other in the west of the city. Xu Jie affectionately called their relationship a “long-distance love.” Every weekend, he would take the bus to see her, carrying his guitar with him. As the bus moved through the bustling city of Wuhan, his heart would gradually warm amidst the urban clamor.
On November 25, 20XX, their son Lele was born. Because of Qiu’s rare blood type, the doctors were on high alert during delivery. Soon after, Xu Jie was promoted to shift supervisor, and they used all their savings for a down payment on a new house in Yangluo. His cherished guitar hung in a prominent spot in the living room. But then disaster struck. Xu Jie made the tough decision to sell their home. They listed it online at the original price, but with a 9.7% transaction fee and 320,000 yuan in outstanding loans, even if they sold it, they wouldn’t have much left. Xu Jie’s heart was breaking.
One evening, while worrying about selling the house, Qiu Huizhen gently hit Xu Jie in the dark, smiling, “You take care of everything. Don’t worry about me.” But when he touched her hand, it was thin and cold, filling Xu Jie with dread.
The next day, Xu Jie continued to hustle for medical expenses. Even though Qiu’s insurance covered 60%, many essential drugs like albumin and globulin had to be purchased out-of-pocket, and the imported drugs weren’t covered at all. They quickly burned through their borrowed funds.
Qiu’s condition worsened. By mid-July, she was moved to the ICU.
The ICU did not allow visitors, so Xu Jie suddenly had free time, but despair loomed over him. How could he make money quickly? While fetching clothes
from home, Xu Jie spotted his guitar on the wall. A thought came to him—street performing. Without hesitation, Xu Jie printed out a flyer explaining Qiu’s illness, grabbed his guitar, and headed to the busy streets of Fruit Lake. The first song he sang was “Love Like Tides”: “My love is like the tides, pushing me towards you…”
At first, Xu Jie felt a little embarrassed, but as he sang, he choked up, pouring his heart into the familiar melody. His mind flashed back to the beautiful girl smiling sweetly at him all those years ago, to her tender kisses on their son’s cheeks, to her playful scolding.
Some passersby paused curiously, some tossed coins into the guitar case. The clinking of the coins echoed in the empty guitar case.
That first day, Xu Jie earned more than 200 yuan. He felt hopeful.
Meanwhile, Qiu’s brother and younger brother came to the hospital for stem cell matching. Her family was poor; her parents were farmers. Her older brother, a chef, had been in a car accident a few years ago and could no longer work, and her younger brother was still unmarried. Xu Jie’s family was also poor, unable to help much. Xu Jie hoped that this busy, bustling world would offer him more kindness. He sang in the pedestrian streets, in underground passageways, at bus stops—wherever there were people. Bus stops in the evening were like magnets, drawing strangers together, only to separate them again. Faces came and went like flowing water. Xu Jie quickly grew thin, his throat became hoarse, and calluses formed on his hands, but he persisted.
Whether by luck or divine mercy, after one round of chemotherapy, Qiu’s condition improved, and she was moved to a regular ward.
When she came out, both of them were anxious. Qiu tried to hide her chemotherapy-bald head under a hat, while Xu Jie curled up his fingers. Qiu immediately noticed something was different about him—he was darker, thinner, and kept clenching his right hand. She grabbed his hand and pried it open, seeing his callused fingertips. Shocked, she asked, “What have you been doing every day?” Xu Jie nervously lied, “I’ve just been playing video games at home.” Qiu wasn’t entirely convinced. Later, while she was asleep, Xu Jie went downstairs to pay the hospital fees. The cashier had grown used to him handing over piles of coins. One moment, while waiting, he suddenly noticed Qiu sitting in a nearby chair, watching him. Embarrassed, Xu Jie rushed over, “Why are you out of bed?” “I saw your guitar case under the bed at noon, and it’s full of coins…” Tears welled up in Qiu’s large eyes. Xu Jie quickly explained, “I just like singing.” As they walked back to the ward, he told her stories about his days of street performing—how a young boy was so entranced by his singing that he quietly left a 50-yuan bill; how one night, he was chased off by a group of dancing grannies; how once, he packed up his things and ran when someone shouted, “The city inspectors are coming!” only to realize much later that there was no reason for him to run. Qiu burst into laughter. “There are so many interesting things you need to experience with me,” Xu Jie teased. But Qiu’s eyes dimmed.
During the day, Xu Jie accompanied his wife through treatments and chemotherapy. At night, he continued singing in the streets. To encourage her, he taped a photo of their son to the wall, with the words: “Mom, keep fighting!” When he returned at night, if the other patients weren’t asleep, he would take out his guitar and play their requests. From “Nunchucks” to “Little Poplar,” Xu Jie’s repertoire spanned songs from the 1960s to the 1990s. Soon, the ward was filled with patients and their families. The nurses eventually had to intervene. Qiu would always watch him from her bed, her eyes filled with deep affection.
A Heart-Wrenching Decision to End the Pain
At the end of July, while performing on Han Street, Xu Jie met He Jun, the editor of Zhiyinyuan. He Jun was moved by Xu Jie’s story and invited him to perform at a matchmaking event, where the attendees eagerly donated money. However, this was still a drop in the ocean compared to Qiu’s daily medical expenses, which amounted to several thousand yuan. Around this time, Qiu’s brother’s stem cell match results came back—it was a 10-point match! The doctor explained that such a high match rate was very rare. Qiu’s brother immediately prepared to donate his stem cells. For the first time, the couple saw a glimmer of hope.
But the most pressing issue was still the money. Xu Jie continued making calls to borrow money and pushed harder to sell their house. Many people inquired about the house, but when they learned about the high transaction fees, they backed out. Because of her special blood type, Qiu’s blood transfusions cost three times as much as usual—1,500 yuan per bag. The cost of the bone marrow transplant was also much higher. On August 12, the doctor once again urged Xu Jie, “Besides the surgery fees, you’ll need money for post-operative care. You need to raise the funds as soon as possible.” The rare smile that had recently appeared on Qiu’s face disappeared instantly.
Back in the ward, Qiu stroked the photo of their son by her bed and let out a long sigh. Seeing this broke Xu Jie’s heart. He could only silently hug his wife. Where would they find the money? Xu Jie had no idea. Then, the phone rang. A stranger offered to buy their house, but the remaining loan prevented the transaction. The buyer suggested paying part of the amount to clear the loan but demanded a price 50,000 yuan below the original asking price.
“They’re taking advantage of us!” Xu Jie fumed. Qiu’s eyes slowly filled with despair.
With the surgery on hold due to insufficient funds, Xu Jie grabbed his guitar and headed back to Han Street to sing again.
“This song is dedicated to my wife, Qiu Huizhen, who is teetering between life and death. Over a decade ago, we were schoolmates; now we are husband and wife, raising our one-year-old son. I can’t just watch her die!” As he spoke, tears streamed down Xu Jie’s face. He strummed his guitar and began singing “White Moonlight”: “White moonlight, in a certain place in the heart, so bright, yet so cold. Everyone has a sadness deep within…” A young girl wept and emptied her wallet, while pedestrians stopped and placed money in his guitar case.
When Xu Jie returned to the hospital, Qiu was lying in bed with her eyes closed, her lashes trembling. She was pretending to sleep, and tear streaks were still visible on her face. Xu Jie sat beside her, his heart breaking.
Over the next few days, Qiu’s mood deteriorated, her face turning pale. By the 18th, the IV needle in her hand could no longer drip fluid, and Xu Jie had to stretch out her arm to open the veins. Her cold, withered hand felt like a skeleton.
On the night of the 22nd, Qiu finally had the strength to speak. She suggested that her mother take over her care so that Xu Jie could have more time to “sing.”
“Xiao Jie, have I ever told you that I love you? The truth is, I love you very much.” Xu Jie was overwhelmed with tears. Qiu continued, struggling to speak, “I know you’re a responsible man, but our child is so young, and I don’t want to burden you with debt while having to take care of me in my frail state…” Xu Jie covered her mouth, refusing to let her say more.
The next day, Xu Jie brought his mother-in-law to the hospital. During the day, he continued his relentless efforts to raise money and sang at night. To let his mother-in-law rest, he rented a small, shabby room nearby. Both families were frantically borrowing money from friends and relatives. By the end of August, they had managed to raise another 200,000 yuan.
What Xu Jie didn’t realize was that Qiu had already decided to give up.
On the evening of August 29, after finishing his performance on Han Street, Xu Jie received a text message from Qiu: “Tonight, sleep at the rental room. My mom is here, so don’t worry about me.” So Xu Jie packed up and returned to his rental. The next morning, he went to sing at Liyuan Square. At dusk, he suddenly received a call from a fellow patient: “Your wife has been rushed into the emergency room!” Xu Jie was startled; wasn’t his mother-in-law supposed to be taking care of her? He called her immediately, only to find out that his mother-in-law had no idea—“Haven’t you been taking care of Huizhen these past two days?” That’s when Xu Jie realized that on the night of the 28th, Qiu had sent her mother home to get money, claiming that Xu Jie would be with her. Xu Jie felt his heart sink. He rushed to the hospital, only to be greeted by the grim faces of the medical staff. He learned from a nurse that on the morning of the 29th, after the other patient in her room was discharged, Qiu was left alone. She had turned the air conditioning down to 16 degrees and had stopped taking her medication! That evening, during the doctors’ rounds, they found her
in a critical state and rushed her to the emergency room. As they transferred her to the gurney, Qiu had been too weak to speak but had clung tightly to the bed rail, refusing to let the doctors take her away. It took two nurses to pry her hands free. No one could have imagined that someone so close to death could still have such strength…
Qiu passed away from a severe lung infection, despite three hours of emergency treatment.
Xu Jie saw Qiu for the last time in the emergency room. She lay there peacefully, her bluish skin still damp. Xu Jie collapsed by her bedside, unable to comprehend why she had given up when they had been so close to hope. Family members, friends, and fellow patients crowded the hallway, overcome with grief. At one point, Qiu’s brother asked Xu Jie, “Can you still access my sister’s QQ space? My phone showed that she updated it yesterday, but I don’t have permission to view it.” Xu Jie was startled. He quickly found Qiu’s phone and opened her QQ space. At 2 a.m. on August 30, she had posted a new update: “Dear Xiao Jie, I cannot burden you and Lele anymore… You have upheld your responsibility, and I have not failed in love. I am grateful for all the beauty in life. In the next life, I will never let go of your hand…”
There was a moment of silence, then Xu Jie let out a heart-wrenching cry. Family members, friends, fellow patients, and the hospital staff were all consumed by grief.
The night was cold, and the moon wept silently. One can only hope that Qiu Huizhen, in the heavens, can hear Xu Jie’s soul-wrenching cry—In the face of life, we are all so small. I hate you and blame you, but I cannot truly be angry with you. You died for love, taking away all the brightness of my life. In the next life, we will meet again.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
