Sheng Xia, Cheng Liang

In the next three days, the low-grade fever of Sheng Xia did not subside, and it continued to recur, causing Cheng Liang to postpone the surgery for another three days.

During these days, aside from the first day when Director Lin had a furious outburst during teaching rounds, the other days were relatively peaceful.

However, Aunt Liu’s condition became more serious. She was visibly weak, and she spent more time asleep than awake in a day. The amount of ascites in her stomach increased day by day, and according to the nurses, Aunt Liu had already started to have blood in her stool.

As her condition worsened, Director Lin’s expression during morning rounds became increasingly serious. The number of times he called Aunt Liu into his office to discuss treatment options also increased, and every time Aunt Liu came back, she always looked hesitant.

Despite everything, Aunt Liu was still very happy most of the time. She watched the new TV dramas that had just started airing and eagerly counted the days until the finale. She said she had to count, hoping that she could go home to watch it when the finale came.

She wanted to watch it comfortably, then go to bed early and continue running her breakfast shop.

When she spoke of these things, a fleeting smile appeared on her face, overshadowing her burnt and sickly appearance.

Sheng Xia’s best friend, Tang Caixi, would come over after work these days. The two of them had lived together for a long time, so she felt empty when she went home alone. So Tang Caixi simply brought dinner every day and came to the ward to eat with Sheng Xia. When Aunt Liu was awake, the ward was very lively, filled with laughter and chatter.

Tang Caixi had seen Cheng Liang once. That day was another surgery day for Cheng Liang. He had been performing surgeries all day and was walking past the ward like a zombie, which happened to be seen by Sheng Xia and Tang Caixi.

He was indeed good-looking.

But this withered spirit was really not Tang Caixi’s taste. Tang Caixi only took a glance and immediately started gossiping with her best friend, “It’s really a waste to be a doctor with that face. It’s much better to be a pervert ah! No, being a pervert surgeon actually sounds pretty sexy.”

Sheng Xia was speechless. “……That surgeon that fits to be a pervert happens to be your friend’s attending doctor, the one who’s going to open my stomach.”

Tang Caixi clapped her hands: “So it’s even more exciting!”

Sheng Xia: “……Thank you.”

Aunt Liu was half-lying on the bed at the time, watching them with squinting eyes and smiling, even though she was so weak that she couldn’t sit up straight.

***

One evening, Tang Caixi helped Sheng Xia bring changed clothes after work, and she also brought some snacks like potato chips and other snacks she enjoyed. Carrying large and small bags into the ward, she saw a man sitting by Aunt Liu’s sickbed. He was not much older than them.

The atmosphere in the ward was heavy.

Sheng Xia waved at her with a smile, but there was no warmth in her eyes.

The man saw someone coming in and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Aunt Liu’s complexion became even more darker, her eyes unnaturally yellow. She was lying on her bed with a big belly, expressionless.

“Mom.” The man called out, his voice hoarse. “I had no choice but to come to you.”

Aunt Liu looked at her only son.

“The current school district is like this now. You have to queue up from birth. Xiaoying just got pregnant, and it’s not too late to buy now. Otherwise, your grandson will have to pay a sponsorship fee if he wants to go to a good school.”

“Xiaoying and I only have this much salary. It’ll definitely be even tighter after the child is born. How can we afford the sponsorship fee? It’s better to grit our teeth and sell the old house now and buy a house in the school district.”

Aunt Liu still didn’t respond, just looked at her son quietly.

“Mom.” The man felt guilty under Aunt Liu’s gaze, and he lowered his voice, “That surgery, doing all of them will cost two to three hundred thousand, and it’s not one hundred percent curable… “

Aunt Liu finally spoke, her voice very soft, “So, you want me not to have surgery and use the money to buy a house in the school district?”

The man nodded and added eagerly, “The doctor said there are other methods, and surgery isn’t necessary.”

Aunt Liu seemed to smile, but also not.

She said, “The doctor also said that without surgery, conservative treatment is tantamount to waiting to die.”

The man fell silent.

The ward plunged into a heavy silence.

Sheng Xia held Tang Caixi’s hand, her heart heavy.

“What did your dad say?” Aunt Liu asked.

“My dad……” The man hesitated. “He said to sell the storefront downstairs together with the house, buy a bigger one, and live together when the time comes.”

Aunt Liu really smiled this time: “Sell the breakfast shop? What will your dad live on? You’ll support him?”

The man mumbled, not saying anything.

Aunt Liu looked at the ceiling of the hospital bed and sighed: “He must have someone else outside.”

“Mom, what nonsense are you talking about!” The man became anxious. “Dad is so old, how can he!”

Aunt Liu raised the corner of her mouth.

Indeed, how can he!

It’s said that a night as a husband and wife leads to a hundred days of grace, and that only by raising children can one prevent old age.

However, when she was seriously ill, her husband and son were discussing selling the house and the breakfast shop to raise money for a new one. What preparing to buy a house in the school district, they were obviously preparing for after her death.

“Leave,” Aunt Liu closed her eyes and waved her hand wearily. “I’m tired.”

“Mom……” The man didn’t leave. He lowered his head and called out in a low voice. “Think about it again, for the sake of your unborn grandson.”

Aunt Liu ignored him.

“Xixi, help me call the nurse. It’s time to take my temperature,” Sheng Xia said with a cold face.

The man turned his head to glance at them, then looked back at Aunt Liu, who didn’t look at him anymore. In the end, he left, leaving with his back hunched, and his overly thin shoulders carrying a worn-out computer bag.

The tears that Aunt Liu had been holding back for a long time finally flowed down after the man’s figure completely disappeared.

Sheng Xia and Tang Caixi sat by Aunt Liu’s bed, handing her tissues. The two girls didn’t say much. Some emotions might indeed be something everyone experiences, but the ways to address them are not.

As outsiders, no one could persuade the person involved with methods they thought would be better for them.

Only the person involved could understand their own choices.

Despite a mutual understanding of sadness, there is still a gap in life.

Aunt Liu didn’t say anything either. She just lay on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

The atmosphere in the ward became very depressing. Tang Caixi accompanied Sheng Xia until the nurse began urging her to leave. Aunt Liu fell asleep again. Sheng Xia sat alone in the ward, read a book for a while, then put it down and stared out of the window.

Outside the window, there was a mountain, and at night, it was so dark that no light could penetrate.

Sheng Xia sighed, put on a thin coat, and got out of bed lightly. She quietly opened the door of the ward and slipped out.

It was past eleven at night, and the corridor was empty, with only the sound of the voices at the nurse’s station.

Sheng Xia wrapped her coat and turned around, going to the elevator in the corner that was rarely used.

She didn’t know where to go, but she had been staying in this small ward for too long, and Aunt Liu’s matter was too depressing, so she desperately needed to breathe some fresh air.

There was a 24-hour coffee shop on the first floor of the inpatient building, she thought.

It would be nice to sit there and get some fresh air.

The small and old elevator made a “ding” sound. Cheng Liang was leaning against the elevator door and holding a cup of coffee, a lollipop in his mouth, and his eyelids were drooping as usual. When he saw Sheng Xia, he was momentarily stunned.

……

At that moment, Sheng Xia felt guilty, like a high school student caught reading an extracurricular book by the teacher. She pulled her coat again.

“Where are you going?” Cheng Liang, who was so exhausted from the night shift, asked plainly.

His patient, who tried to sneak out in the cleaning staff’s elevator at 11 o’clock in the evening, looked guilty after seeing him.

So Cheng Liang’s expression became serious. He took the lollipop out of his mouth and straightened up.

The doctor would definitely not agree to let her drink coffee at this time.

She still had a low-grade fever yesterday, and today, her saying that she wanted to go out for some fresh air was obviously not something the doctor would approve of.

Sheng Xia’s mind turned quickly, and she replied, “I ate too much for dinner and wanted to take a walk.”

Cheng Liang said: “……”

Of course, she couldn’t have eaten too much. Because of her cholecystitis, the diet he had prescribed her required semi-liquid food. It was already past eleven, so where could she go to walk off a full stomach?

But she really didn’t look like she was trying to sneak out. She was just holding a phone in her hand, and she was still wearing a patient gown and slippers.

It did seem like she was just going out for a walk.

Cheng Liang thought of the absurd deeds of the family members of the patient in bed 15 that the nurse was gossiping about today and understood.

“Follow me.” He didn’t say much, nor did he let Sheng Xia enter the elevator. After the elevator doors closed, holding the coffee, he walked away with the lollipop in his mouth again.

Behind him, Sheng Xia pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, then jogged a few steps to catch up—when in the hospital, people really become especially obedient to doctors.

Cheng Liang walked casually like this, and Sheng Xia followed nervously behind him. When they passed the nurse’s station, the nurses there just greeted Cheng Liang, and no one found anything unusual about this scene—when in the hospital, it was common for a patient to follow a doctor. Usually, it meant something important was being discussed.

And most of the time, it was a significant matter.

But Sheng Xia was really. She just didn’t want to stay in the ward for the time being.

“There’s a small enclosed balcony over there.” After entering the doctor’s office, Cheng Liang pointed to the door inside the office, “It’s sheltered from the wind. If you want to get some fresh air, you can stay there for a while. But you can’t stay too long. Sleep is very important for patients.”

“……What?” Sheng Xia was confused.

“If you don’t need to get some air, you can go back to the ward now.” Cheng Liang twirled the lollipop in his hand.

Sheng Xia: “……”

“There’s a water dispenser at the door, and there are fruits in the fruit basket on top.” Seeing that Sheng Xia hadn’t left, Cheng Liang added another instruction. He pulled out the office chair, sat down, unlocked the computer, and never spoke again.

He still had the lollipop in his mouth, and the pink candy looked like a cigarette in his mouth. Paired with his unapproachable expression, he looked a little gangly.

Dressed in a white coat…

It was……

It was quite stylish.

Sheng Xia picked an orange and opened the balcony door. It was really a small balcony, with its back against the mountain, facing the street. Even though it was already past eleven, the road of Lucheng was still bustling with traffic, and the height of the eighteen-story building blocked most of the noise, leaving only the flickering car lights, distant and sometimes bright or dim.

Sheng Xia let out a heavy breath.

She was not an emotional person, but after staying in the small ward for too long, her reason became dull. Emotionally, she couldn’t accept that Aunt Liu, who was always smiling, warm, and kind, was being treated so unfairly.

Aunt Liu just wanted to live.

But Aunt Liu’s family had given up on her and were convincing her to give up on herself.

Looking at the night view, Sheng Xia exhaled heavily again.

Her mother had told her that the world was not beautiful, that behind every shining light, there were unpleasant things happening. The word “beautiful” was just a wish, like a carrot hung in front of a donkey, making the donkey keep pulling the cart.

But even in such a world, there were still many people who wanted to live.

Her mother didn’t tell her why, but when she saw Aunt Liu, she suddenly understood why.

Because at this moment, she desperately hoped that Aunt Liu could survive, watch TV series, run her breakfast shop busily, and gossip about the neighbors with her Lucheng accent.

“Thank you.” After eating an orange, Sheng Xia closed the balcony door and thanked Cheng Liang sincerely.

Very sincerely.

“Hospitalized patients are not allowed to leave the ward without permission, especially at this late hour.” Cheng Liang looked at Sheng Xia. “You must inform the nurse and report when entering or leaving.”

“……Sorry.” Sheng Xia’s attitude of admitting her mistake was very good.

She really hadn’t thought that much just now, she just felt stifled.

“……A three-bed ward will be available the day after tomorrow.” Cheng Liang changed the topic again. “If you want to change wards, you can apply in advance.”

Sheng Xia fell silent for a moment. “……No need for now.”

Cheng Liang raised his eyes and looked at her, then nodded.

No more response.

It was almost midnight, and she should go to bed.

He did think that Aunt Liu’s family was too peculiar, so when he saw Sheng Xia feeling stifled, he felt a bit sympathetic.

But if she didn’t return to the ward now, he would have to kick her out.

“Dr. Cheng…” Sheng Xia seemed to hesitate for a long time before speaking.

Cheng Liang made a questioning sound, looking at her.

“That…” Sheng Xia raised her hand and patted the top of her head, gesturing. “Your hair is messy.”

Cheng Liang: “……”

Sheng Xia: “Good night, Dr. Cheng.”

Cheng Liang: “……”