Chu Ye frowned and hesitated without moving. Her brain was shut down and she even didn't understand this sentence. Do they have a good relationship? Can someone even pick him up by bike?
But obviously, Han Zhao is not a very patient person. He clicked his tongue and turned his head impatiently, "Why are you still standing there in a daze? Come up quickly. I've been looking for you for a long time. Please stop nagging."
Chu Ye's brows had never relaxed since she saw Han Zhao. She thought about her purpose and Han Zhao's character before slowly walking over, tiptoeing and landing firmly on the back seat of the bicycle. Holding the pear paste jar, the fingers of one hand tightly clasped the lower edge of the seat cushion.
Han Zhao didn't look back when he felt someone sitting on it. He paused for a moment, guessed that he should sit firmly, and then rode his bicycle towards the town.
He was riding very fast, his green floral shirt was bulging in the wind, and the surrounding environment was rapidly retreating. Chu Ye turned back and looked in the direction of the fish pond, which was surrounded by tall forests and dense trees, making it a bit more terrifying.
She withdrew her gaze and fell on Han Zhao's clothes. Large white lines were laid out on the green cloth, which was weird and strange. She tightened the jar in her hand, considered it and asked her doubts, "Han Brother, where is Uncle Li? Why do you ask me to come out to find someone?”
The words scattered in the wind in pieces, and an atmosphere of silence followed. After a long while, Han Zhao's somewhat hoarse voice came over, and he said, "The old man is in the hospital."
Silent depression enveloped Chu Ye's heart. She controlled her thoughts and refused to think about the worst. Maybe it was just a cold, right?
The bicycle went all the way through the town and further away. After an unknown period of time, the bicycle stopped at the entrance of the hospital. It was not far from the train station, but in the opposite direction of the factory.
A small market formed around the hospital, with vendors shouting on both sides of the street, mostly selling fruit supplements and medical supplies. The hospital door was open, and there were many people coming and going.
Han Zhao rode into the hospital, turned left and right, and arrived at the downstairs of a small building with white walls and blue windows. There was a red-lettered sign saying "Inpatient Department" hanging on the upper floor. The door was flanked by short green trees.
There are much fewer people here than at the entrance of the hospital. People look solemn when they come and go. There are people nearby wearing hospital gowns who are being supported by their families and recovering. Chu Ye's divergent thinking is somewhat uncontrollable, and a bad premonition spreads in his heart.
At this moment, Han Zhao parked his bicycle behind the small building. Chu Ye got down in time and followed Han Zhao into the building.
On the third floor, the narrow corridor was illuminated little by little with lights. There were white wards on both sides of the wall. After the two of them came out of the stairs, they walked deeper. The faint smell of disinfectant floated into their noses. Occasionally, the ward doors were opened. Looking at the bed, one could see patients lying on a snow-white bed, with family members standing beside them.
The further inside, the brighter the lights above the head, and the double room turned into a single room. Soon, Han Zhao's footsteps stopped at the door of the ward with the number 303, and Chu Ye stopped and looked at the man's face. Behind his back, Chu Ye's uneasiness became more intense.
Then, with a "click", the door opened, and the scene in the ward was revealed - it was a single ward, with waist-high white tiles covering the walls, and the light bulbs on the ceiling cast a cold white halo.
White bed, small table, IV stand.
There are two medicine bottles hanging on the infusion stand, and two transparent slender tubes extend from the bottom of the bottle to the back of the hand. There is an electrocardiogram monitor on the small table, with colorful numbers beating constantly on it. The instrument is connected to many The ends of the gray threads were hidden in the thin quilt.
The man on the bed had his eyes closed at this time. His face was sallow, his cheeks were sunken, and the lower half of his face was covered with a transparent mask. The man was almost too thin, and the ups and downs of his body could not even be seen under the thin quilt.
With just one glance, Chu Ye's mind seemed to be pinned in place by invisible iron nails, and even his breathing was suppressed. However, Han Zhao had already skillfully sat on the small bench at the head of the bed, lifting the corner of the quilt to check the infusion hand.
"...Hmm." The person on the bed seemed to be aware of it, and slowly opened his eyes. The bright eyes became more and more cloudy, but he still saw Chu Ye at the door for the first time.
"...Xiao Chu...you're here..." Uncle Li tried his best to speak, but it was still as weak as a feather in the wind. He squeezed out a smile and raised his other hand to slowly invite people over.
This hand seemed to have some kind of magic power. Chu Ye's feet refused to obey and she walked over blankly and sat on the bench beside the bed. It wasn't until she held her hands that she discovered that this hand had once been picking up rags in the fields. The hand that grabs a lot of candies for myself is as dry as an old branch on a tree.
Her eyes were a little sore for no reason. She blinked hard, suppressed the discomfort in her throat, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few days, why did you send yourself to the hospital?"
"Ha...ha, cough!" Uncle Li wanted to laugh, but he coughed again just as he said it. His face was flushed, and the transparent mask was instantly stained with a layer of mist. Han Zhao took out a tissue from the side and held it together. He went to Uncle Li's mouth, caught the thick phlegm that came out of his mouth, wiped the corners of his mouth, and then threw the tissue into the trash can with an expressionless face.
Looking at this action, it seems so skillful.
Facing Chu Ye's worried eyes, he gasped and comforted, "...I'm old...I'm old and useless." He said, patting Chu Ye's hand, as if to let her not worry.
Chu Ye turned away, reached out and quickly touched the corners of his eyes, and then turned his head as if nothing had happened.
"...I asked the bastard to find you, so I didn't cause you... any trouble, right?" Uncle Li's cloudy eyes were full of apologies.
"No trouble, I came to see you today." Chu Ye smiled and asked him to look at the pear paste in his hand, "You must get better soon. I bought some good things for you. Yours.”
"...You are interested," Uncle Li's eyes were full of emotion. Unknowingly, there was crystal liquid nestling at the end of his wrinkled eyes. Han Zhao silently raised his fingers to wipe them for him, "...I I didn’t want to call you, we are... not relatives, I think, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
"Later... the bastard said that he had to give an explanation no matter what. To save... others from worrying about it, I asked him to go and call... you." Uncle Li's voice became softer and softer, and he couldn't speak a word. He had to stop for a while to gather enough strength to continue. Even so, he still felt sorry for disturbing Chu Ye rashly. The old man's words were so soft, but they sounded so true. Some valve in his heart was quietly opened. Chu Ye held his hand and shook his head desperately. His tears seemed to be free of money and he couldn't stop them.
The moment she came in, she saw the card on the bedside:
Department: Medical Oncology
Admission time: 1982.8.17
Name: Li Rongde
Gender: Male
Age: Fifty-nine years old
Diagnosis: Late stage lung cancer with respiratory failure
……
It turned out that he had been hospitalized for a week, but she didn't know it. She hated that she was busy looking at business around the town some time ago and didn't take the time to see him.
At this time, the disease showed its most ruthless side in front of human beings. It never stopped for the true feelings of the world, nor stopped harvesting for human tears. A huge feeling of powerlessness enveloped her whole body, and her hands and feet were weak. You have to control yourself.
She wanted to raise her hands to wipe away her tears, but found that she couldn't wipe them away. She sobbed in her throat. She didn't want to cry. Uncle Li was here. She didn't want to cry for bad luck, but the pain in her heart seemed to be swallowed up. .
...She couldn't control it.
Seeing her crying, Uncle Li hurriedly tried to stand up to comfort her, but Han Zhao held her down in time. He signaled Uncle Li not to worry and put the cardboard box beside him next to Chu Ye.
Seeing this, Uncle Li glared angrily. He raised his trembling finger to point at Han Zhao and was about to scold him, but Han Zhao held it in time, "Okay, I'm already in bed and still can't get rid of my bad habit of cursing!"
Before Li Bo could speak, he turned to look at Chu Ye who felt he couldn't help himself, "Wipe your tears, stop crying."
Chu Ye also knew that it was not good to cry in someone else's ward. She took the paper box and turned it over her face, took out the paper, wiped the tears, and threw it away. This cycle lasted several times before she slowly recovered her emotions. Uncle Li's dry hands slowly Patting on the back of her hand, giving silent comfort.
After a while, until the area around her eyes hurt, she finally regained her composure, turned around with a big tooth, smiled, held Uncle Li's hand, and muttered, "I'm sorry, Uncle Li, I saw you coughing before, I should take you to the hospital.”
She only mentioned it a few times, but was rejected by Uncle Li every time, so she stopped insisting.
If I had known...
If I had known...
I didn't care about bringing people to the hospital for examination, and I wouldn't have delayed it until now.
"...Silly boy," Uncle Li smiled and raised his arm with difficulty. After a long time, the dry branches fell gently on the girl's head. The old man's tone was soft, like a dusty historical story, with the power to soothe people's hearts. "...I found out early in the morning...that's why I didn't want to come to the hospital."
Chu Ye's eyes widened, and now it was Han Zhao who couldn't sit still. His butt seemed to be on fire, and he jumped up from the bench with a "whoosh", "Hey! Old man, did you do this on purpose? I'll find out clearly. Why didn’t you tell me?”
If it had been in the past, Uncle Li would have choked back. This time, he didn't know if he was justified. He remained silent. When he saw Han Zhao staring at Han Zhao, who was vowing to give an explanation, he sighed, and mist gathered on the transparent mask again.
"...it was found out...that it is already in the advanced stage."
"Then you could have written me a letter then! Call me! Call me back! You have delayed it until now!" Han Zhao rarely showed a broken look, but he soon adjusted his mood again, but he still refused to give up. He looked at the person on the bed.
"...Sigh," a sigh lingered in the ward. Chuye realized that the next words were not suitable for her to listen to, so she pushed the door open and went out on the pretext of going to the toilet.
When closing the door, she heard Li Boruo's voice, "...I have always been a drag on you...You can't go to Hong Kong with confidence because of me..."
……
Chu Ye took the opportunity to sit downstairs for a while. Speaking of it, this was the first time she had to face the situation of someone around her being struck down by the disease, and she was still a stranger she had only known for more than three months. She cried for him and wanted to come. It feels a little incredible.
She traveled half the map alone before arriving in this seaside city. She worked hard and looked for other possibilities. During this period, she met Pan'er and Li Xiaoya, and she also fought hard for the unfair treatment she received. I also met Uncle Li because of the fish pond.
This old man who she thought was just a scavenger at first, but as they got along with her, he eagerly told her the skills of survival here. Although they met by chance, they had a deep and deep love for each other.
She didn't know if she would feel this way again in her life. She reached out and touched her heart, which was swollen.
When it was almost time, Chu Ye followed the route back to ward 303. The door was ajar, and there was no quarrel in the room. Han Zhao was sitting on the side, and even with his head lowered, he could see the redness around his eyes.
(End of chapter)