Chapter 15: Dongdong Goes to See Mom

“How is the patient today?” Professor Yang entered the ward and looked at the peacefully sleeping patient with eyes full of interest and curiosity.

“Same as before. Basic needs are normal, vital signs are normal, but still no response to the outside world.” Answering him was a young female comrade with a high ponytail. She was very neat and tidy. Her name was Yu Qing. She was one of the doctors from the medical research team, but also one of Ning Xin’s caretakers. She personally handled all of Ning Xin’s daily needs.

To be honest, Ning Xin herself could hardly believe it. This young girl took care of her bodily needs without the slightest hint of disdain.

Having been a vegetative patient, Ning Xin had gained a new understanding of what it meant to be one. She used to think vegetative patients lay in bed and were fed through IV drips and nutrient solutions. But that wasn’t always the case.

At least, not in her case.

She could eat normally, swallow normally, and relieve herself normally. These were automatic bodily functions. Her body responded to these things with awareness. This made Ning Xin wonder — did vegetative patients truly have no awareness of the outside world?

However, she was different from other vegetative patients. Her soul had transmigrated into a book, so her case could not be used to explain the situation of other vegetative patients.

However, having been a vegetative patient for two years, compared to people of this era, Ning Xin was considered to have fallen into a nest of blessings—aside from being confined here every day.

Simply put, she did not have to work every day. The food she ate was rich in nutrition—white rice, noodles, vegetables, and meat—it was a balanced diet of both meat and vegetables. In order to maintain the good life functions of this experimental subject, the research team was very attentive to her three daily meals, almost to the point of hiring a nutritionist to create a meal plan.

Professor Yang was not disappointed after hearing Yu Qing’s words. If one day the subject suddenly woke up, he would be very pleasantly surprised, but after two years of no awakening, as long as the subject’s vital signs remained stable, he was already satisfied. As long as the subject’s vital signs remained normal, then this research was considered successful up to this point. “You’ve worked hard. Please continue.”

Yu Qing said, “It’s not hard. This is what I should do, and it is very meaningful.”

Professor Yang was very satisfied with her work attitude. Taking care of a patient’s eating, drinking, and toileting was not a simple matter. Although Yu Qing was just one of them, this still showed her awareness and attitude. “Today is Sunday. Dongdong should be coming to visit soon. When he visits, pay close attention to the subject’s condition. If there is any reaction, call me immediately.”

Speaking of this child he had watched grow up, Professor Yang was also very fond of him. Speaking of which, this family was really down on their luck. Two years ago, the husband sacrificed himself. The wife fell into a coma. The old mother had a stroke. Only a newborn baby was left behind. He did want to cure Widow Ji’s stroke, but he and a few friends had examined her condition and could not find a solution. They could only proceed slowly.

To be honest, when he saw Widow Ji had a stroke at that time, he was really worried it would affect the experiment. Fortunately, although Widow Ji returned to her hometown, the baby was left behind, and Mother Qin took care of him.

She had been taking care of him for two years. Every Sunday, rain or shine, Mother Qin would bring the child to visit.

Yu Qing said, “Don’t worry. I will definitely…” Halfway through her words, she heard movement outside.

“Dongdong, we’ve arrived at the ward. Grandma will help you take off your backpack, alright?” Mother Qin looked at the little one who was still wobbly on his feet but insisted on carrying his “heavy” backpack himself. No matter how she looked at him, he was just so adorable.

“Dongdong can… take it off himself.” Ji Dong’s little milky voice was especially clear and bright. But suddenly, he covered his mouth with his small hand. “Grandma, Dongdong spoke too loudly just now… will it… wake mom up?”

“If you could really wake your mom up, that would be great.” A deep teasing voice came from inside the ward.

Ji Dong’s eyes lit up, and he immediately ran in on his short legs. “Grandpa Yang…” Sure enough, he saw Grandpa Yang inside and immediately asked, “Grandpa Yang, are you… giving mom an injection?” Speaking of injections, he instinctively covered his butt. This scene made everyone present laugh.

Little Ji Dong knew that mom was sick, so she kept sleeping. He also knew that injections hurt the butt. When he was sick and Grandma took him for injections, it hurt so much he cried. “Grandpa Yang, did my mom… cry today?”

Ning Xin: She’s an adult. How could she be afraid of injections? But finally, the day her baby came to visit had arrived. She was so happy.

Only once a week. On normal days, she was all alone. No one talked to her. She was almost becoming withdrawn. Over the past two years, the only bit of joy she had was when her little baby came to see her. Because the little one could talk nonstop from morning till afternoon. Sometimes Ning Xin would think, with him being such a chatterbox, what kind of girl would be able to handle him in the future?

However, hearing him grow from babbling sounds to being able to call her “mom,” she could not hold back her bittersweet tears.

“Yes. The injection is done. Your mom didn’t cry.” Professor Yang had been seen by Ji Dong when he came to give Ning Xin nutritional injections.

“Ah?” Hearing that mom didn’t cry, Ji Dong seemed a little disappointed. He came to the bedside. “Mom, I came to see you.” He said to the mom lying on the bed. Grandpa Yang and the other uncles and aunties from the hospital had said that mom was asleep because she was sick. He needed to talk to mom more. Maybe after hearing more, she would wake up. So every time he spoke until he got thirsty, he would still keep talking. He wanted mom to wake up soon. He wanted to be a child with a mom.

As Ji Dong spoke, he squatted down. His two little hands came out from his backpack, then the backpack gently dropped to the floor. He opened his small backpack and took out the snacks he had been reluctant to eat. While taking them out, he said, “Grandpa Yang, I brought mom… apples, cookies… and White Rabbit milk candy… and chocolate. Can my mom eat these?”

When Ning Xin heard Ji Dong’s words, her eyes lit up. Her soul could feel the body’s sense of taste. Although she could not control her body, she could feel all the sensations from her body. So… she really missed the taste of apples, cookies, and White Rabbit milk candy.

“She can eat them.” Professor Yang patted his little head. “Dongdong is so good. At such a young age, he already knows to bring snacks for mom.”

“Mm. Last time… I brought mom a drumstick…” As he said this, he looked at Yu Qing. “Auntie, did my mom eat the drumstick?”

Last Sunday was the first time Ji Dong brought food for his mom. He heard from kids in the compound that his older brother refused to get up for school every morning, so his grandma would bring a meat bun to his nose. Once his brother smelled the meat bun, he would get up.

Ji Dong thought, drumsticks were so delicious. If his mom smelled the aroma of a drumstick, maybe she would wake up. So last week, he brought a drumstick for his mom.

“She ate it.” Yu Qing said with a smile.

“Then did my mom… wake up after eating the drumstick?” Ji Dong blinked his big eyes and looked at Yu Qing, full of expectation. He had known since he was a baby that his mom was sick and always sleeping. Now he was three years old (two years old in full years), a big kid, but his mom was still sick. His mom had been sick for so many days. She must be feeling awful. He once had a cold for two days, and just having a blocked nose already made him feel very uncomfortable.

Yu Qing apologized a little, “She didn’t wake up, but when your mom ate the drumstick, she chewed a few more times. I think she definitely thought the drumstick was very delicious.”

Ning Xin: She didn’t. She swears she didn’t. Don’t bully her just because she’s asleep and assume she doesn’t know anything.

“Really?” Hearing that mom liked eating drumsticks, his eyes instantly lit up like twinkling stars in the dark night. “The apples… cookies… and White Rabbit milk candy I brought today are also very tasty. Mom will definitely like them too.” Although Ji Dong spoke fluently, he was only two years old after all. If a sentence was too long, he had to speak it in parts. “Auntie, can I… feed mom?”

Last time, the auntie doctor said his hands would get dirty feeding the drumstick. So this time, he specially brought food that would not make his hands dirty.

Yu Qing looked at Professor Yang.

Professor Yang said, “That’s fine, but you have to feed in small bites. Feed Grandpa Yang and let me see.” He could also take the opportunity to observe the test subject.