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On the way to the hospital, the car was silent, as if a thick layer of dark clouds hung overhead, making it hard to breathe.
Liang Qiuchi wore a duckbill cap and silently accompanied Mo Xin.
Although Mo Xin remained silent, his cold and stern face showed no emotional fluctuations as usual. However, he tightly clasped Liang Qiuchi’s hand, and his knuckles turned pale gray from exertion.
“I’m sorry, we did our best.” Outside the intensive care unit, the doctor said regretfully to the Mo brothers, “Governor Mo has completely lost autonomous respiration and heartbeat, and is entirely dependent on machines.”
In other words, if the machines were removed, he would die immediately.
There was no longer any need for further rescue efforts.
“I understand,” Mo Qi said heavily, “Give us two more minutes.”
The doctor opened the door of the intensive care unit, and the mechanical pounding of the chest compression machine sounded particularly harsh.
Mo Zhenghong lay on the hospital bed, his hospital gown gaping open to reveal his waxen upper body. With each compression of the chest compression machine, his body bounced, devoid of any signs of life.
Mo Xin stood dazedly at the door of the intensive care unit, hesitating to move forward.
Mo Qi also found the scene extremely painful and heart-wrenching. He knew that if the compressions continued like this, his father’s ribs and internal organs would likely be crushed. He turned to find medical staff and asked them to remove the chest compression machine.
He hugged Mo Xin’s shoulder from Liang Qiuchi’s arms, speaking lightly as if sighing, “Let’s go, let’s say goodbye to Dad properly.”
Mo Xin didn’t know how he walked to the bedside.
He just stared blankly at his father on the hospital bed, looking at his gray temples, the wrinkles on his forehead, and the teary corners of his eyes.
He was always at the forefront of the battlefield for years, rarely returning home, so his impression of his father was always young and serious, never so old and weak.
“Dad, both Xiao Xin and I are here,” Mo Qi knelt beside the hospital bed, holding his father’s cold and stiff hand, “I will carry on the aspirations you haven’t fulfilled, and those who harm you will not have a good ending. Please rest assured…”
His voice choked, unable to continue, and could only clutch his father’s hand tightly, hoping that at the final moment of life, the family’s presence could be felt.
Mo Xin stiffly moved to his side, also kneeling down, silently placing his hand on the palms of his older brother and father.
Amidst the alarm of the monitor, Mo Zhenghong’s electrocardiogram flatlined.
The breathing machine inserted into his throat was also removed.
Just before covering his father’s face with the white cloth, Mo Xin reached out to wipe away the tear stains from the corners of his eyes.
As he accompanied his father’s body for the last journey, Mo Xin suddenly felt weak, his legs giving out, but Liang Qiuchi quickly pulled him into his arms, preventing him from falling.
Liang Qiuchi instructed Vincent to buy a loaf of bread, then helped Mo Xin sit down in the hospital corridor.
Mo Qi asked, “Are you okay?” His voice was thick with nasal congestion, and there was a scent of smoke on him, probably from crying alone just now.
Liang Qiuchi noticed that his spirits weren’t too good either, and there were definitely a lot of things to deal with at the moment, so he said to Mo Qi, “You go and take care of things first. I’ll stay here with him, don’t worry.”
Mo Qi nodded, patted Mo Xin’s shoulder, and walked away with heavy steps.
Vincent jogged over and handed the bought bread and milk to Liang Qiuchi. Liang Qiuchi tore off a small piece of bread and patiently fed it to Mo Xin’s mouth, saying, “You haven’t eaten anything all day. Have a little something to fill your stomach first. Don’t exhaust yourself.”
Mo Xin hung his head and ate the bread.
Seeing this, Vincent breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left.
Liang Qiuchi continued tearing the bread into small pieces, feeding them to Mo Xin one by one. Mo Xin kept his head down, staring at his toes blankly.
Until later, when he couldn’t swallow the bread anymore and held it dryly in his mouth, tears fell “plip-plop” onto his pants, then onto the ground.
“Mo Xin…” Seeing him like this, Liang Qiuchi couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat. He reached out and hugged his shoulder, saying in a deep voice, “Just cry if you want to.”
But Mo Xin couldn’t cry out loud.
Since childhood, he had received a cold and strict education, never allowed to have moments of such emotional outburst.
He just silently shed tears, occasionally trembling with a sob when he couldn’t hold it in.
Liang Qiuchi gently stroked his back, accompanying him in silently releasing the grief in his heart.
After a long time, Mo Xin regained his hoarse voice, “Half a year ago when I saw him, he didn’t have any white hair. But just now, I saw white hair at his temples…”
Liang Qiuchi reached up to wipe away the tears on his face.
“Even though we didn’t communicate much from childhood to adulthood,” Mo Xin lowered his head again, covering his tear-stained face with his hands, “I don’t understand why I’m so upset now.”
“Not communicating much doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t deep,” Liang Qiuchi reached up to his neck, “You’re family, and blood ties are hard to break.”
Mo Xin leaned into his embrace, burying his head in his chest.
Liang Qiuchi stroked his head, comforting his emotions gently.
Mo Xin cried quietly for a while longer, then stopped the overwhelming emotions, but he didn’t immediately get up, still nestled in Liang Qiuchi’s arms, quietly sorting out his feelings.
Liang Qiuchi waited silently.
After a while, Mo Xin suddenly asked in a muffled voice, “Did you feel the same way back then?”
Liang Qiuchi’s stroking hand paused slightly, “Yeah,” he said, “and I felt very guilty,” his voice came through his chest, sounding somewhat distorted, “If I hadn’t insisted on exposing Reinis, my dad wouldn’t have ended up like that.”
Mo Xin turned his face, leaning against Liang Qiuchi’s chest, gazing up at him with those red, teary eyes, silently.
Liang Qiuchi lowered his eyes to meet his gaze, gently caressing Mo Xin’s cheek with his fingertips. “There were several times when I didn’t want to hold on anymore, the pain was so unbearable that I wanted to end it all. But thinking of you, I couldn’t bear to, I didn’t have the courage.”
Mo Xin didn’t say anything, he just held onto his fingertips tightly.
Liang Qiuchi stared at him with deep eyes, his Adam’s apple rolling slightly, as he said in a low voice, “Looking at you now, it’s like reliving those moments all over again. I regret it a bit.”
“What do you regret?” Mo Xin asked with a heavy nasal tone.
“I regret not taking action to eliminate Reinis during these eight years.”
Liang Qiuchi had many opportunities to act, but in order to uphold what he considered to be justice, he didn’t do so.
“If he had died, your father wouldn’t have died.”
Mo Xin lowered his eyelashes, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “Thinking about these things is meaningless, no one can predict the future.”
Liang Qiuchi lifted his chin, making him look into his eyes again. “The blood debt owed by Reinis, I will make sure he repays it in full.”
Mo Xin’s heart trembled slightly, because in Liang Qiuchi’s eyes, he saw a resolute determination.
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