Chapter 26: Dongdong Followed The Army (Part 2)

The Yang family was full of scholars, mainly engaged in cultural knowledge work, and previously had some foreign ties. In the past, that showed they were well-educated, but now, it could be the fuse.

Qin Zhan naturally understood the Yang family’s situation and knew things weren’t as simple as his uncle said. But since his uncle said so, he didn’t press further, “If anything comes up, contact me.”

“Alright.” Yang Shiping patted him on the shoulder, “I’ll be going.”

He worked at the education bureau. Recently, students across the country were becoming restless, and local education bureaus had no good solutions. Yang Shiping had to travel everywhere for meetings.

After sending off Yang Shiping, Qin Zhan carried Dongdong and picked up a bag of luggage before leaving. Most of Dongdong’s luggage had been sent over in advance. Being able to live with his father made Dongdong very happy. He packed and mailed all his favorite toys, his small pillow, tiger-head hat… basically everything he liked.

Guard Li Guangliang was waiting beside the car at the train station entrance. When he saw the regiment commander come out, he quickly opened the car door and picked up the luggage to put in the car.

Once in the car, they were finally separated from the cold weather outside. Even someone as physically strong as Qin Zhan felt the chill, so it was easy to imagine that ordinary people wouldn’t want to go out in this weather.

It was early February 1965. According to the lunar calendar, it was just the beginning of the first month of 1965, and indeed one of the coldest times of the year.

Dongdong moved in Qin Zhan’s arms. He opened his eyes drowsily, “Great-uncle…” His voice was soft and weak. He hadn’t fully woken up and hadn’t realized the person holding him had changed.

Qin Zhan said, “Your great-uncle has already gone back.”

Hearing this voice, Dongdong’s eyes, which were half-open, instantly opened wide. He rubbed them in disbelief. Sure enough, it was his father he saw. He immediately sat up from Qin Zhan’s arms in delight, “Dad, it’s really you.”

“Sit properly and don’t move around. Uncle Li is driving. Don’t get in his way.” Qin Zhan patted his bottom as the two of them were sitting in the front seat.

“Hey.” Following Qin Zhan’s words, Dongdong turned his head and looked curiously at Uncle Li, who was driving. Dongdong wasn’t riding in a car for the first time. Father Qin used to have someone drive him to and from work. So riding in a car didn’t make Dongdong curious anymore. What he was curious about was Uncle Li.

“Uncle Li is Dad’s security guard, just like Uncle Qian, who used to drive for Grandpa. If you can’t find Dad in the family compound, you can also look for Uncle Li.” Seeing Dongdong staring at Li Guangliang, Qin Zhan introduced him.

When he heard Dad say Uncle Li was like Uncle Qian, Dongdong understood. He was very, very familiar with Uncle Qian. Immediately, Dongdong greeted warmly, “Hello, Uncle Li.”

“Hello, Dongdong.” Li Guangliang also knew Ji Aihua. He had been in the army for several years and had always been with Qin Zhan. Ji Aihua was also recruited by Qin Zhan, so naturally he knew her as well. Now seeing Dongdong grown so big, he felt very gratified.

After greeting Uncle Li, Dongdong looked again at his father. Normally, Dongdong might have chatted a bit more with Uncle Li about life. But now, he hadn’t seen his dad for a whole year. His heart and eyes were all filled with Dad. “Dad, will I be living with you from now on?”

“Yes. Do you want to?” The residence in the family compound had already been approved. Normally, someone like him who was single and unmarried, couldn’t apply. But since he had an adopted son, he counted as having a family, so he met the application criteria.

And because Dongdong had a history of wandering off, Qin Zhan applied for a house with a small yard instead of a building with shared staircases. He was afraid Dongdong would go climbing stairs and get into accidents.

“I do. I think about Dad coming home and living with Dad every day.” Hearing his father confirm, Dongdong finally felt at ease. But then, he secretly laughed, “Dad, do I look like a wolf? Grandpa says I don’t look like a wolf. I look more like a piglet.”

“What?” Qin Zhan didn’t quite understand, but it was true he looked like a piglet—chubby and full of baby fat.

Dongdong explained, “When I came here, Grandma asked me if I was happy to live with Dad. I said I was, I was really happy. Then Grandma said I was a white-eyed wolf. I asked Grandma, what’s a white-eyed wolf? Grandma said, it’s a wolf with white eyes. I said, our eyes are all white too. Are wolves’ eyes not white? Then Grandma said wolves don’t have black pupils in their eyes, so they’re all white. That’s why they’re called white-eyed wolves, hehe… Dad, if wolves don’t have pupils, can they still see?”

Qin Zhan: “…I don’t know. I’ve never seen a wolf.”

“Oh.” Dongdong rolled his eyes. “Dad, when I left, Brother cried with the other kids. So embarrassing. Grandma said if I like Brother, we can bring Brother here too. Can we really do that?”

“Yes.” If something happened to the Qin family, his eldest brother in the capital couldn’t get away. At that time, Wenjing and Jiadong would either come to him, or go to the second brother, or the eldest sister. Since Dongdong got along well with Jiadong, bringing him here was more suitable.

“Wow, that’s great.” Thinking that Brother would come too, the little bit of reluctance in Dongdong’s heart disappeared. “Then we can bring Grandpa and Grandma too. Then we’ll all be together again.”

Qin Zhan patted his little head. “We’ll do as you say.”

But then, Dongdong’s happy smile tightened, and his eyes quickly turned red. “But Mom can’t come. When I came, I asked Grandpa Yang if we could bring Mom too. Grandpa Yang said we couldn’t. Her treatment isn’t here. If she were brought here, she wouldn’t be able to continue treatment there. But Dad, if Mom doesn’t come, I won’t be able to see her. I’ll miss her. What should I do?”

His voice choked a little. He buried his head in Qin Zhan’s arms. Other people had their moms raise them. He was the one who grew up watching his mom. Even though his mom was always asleep, to him, she had always been by his side.

Qin Zhan had no way to respond either. He was silent for a while and then came up with an idea. “Later, Dad will talk to Professor Yang and see if we can take a photo of your mom and mail it to you. Would that be okay?”

“Yes.” If he couldn’t see Mom, having a photo of her would satisfy him. But then Dongdong had another idea. “Dad, if I give all my New Year’s money to Grandpa Yang, can Grandpa Yang stop working and come here to treat Mom?”

Qin Zhan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Even Li Guangliang next to him couldn’t help but sigh at how thoughtful and filial Dongdong was.

“That won’t work.” Qin Zhan said, “Grandpa Yang still has other patients. He can’t only treat Mom. When Dad gets time off, he can still take you back to visit Mom.”

Dongdong had no choice and could only become gloomy.

What Dongdong didn’t know was that the mom he wanted to bring here was not calm at this moment either.

In the hospital room, Ning Xin’s emotions were very unstable. It had already been a month since Mother Qin last brought Dongdong to see her. Ning Xin knew the date because Yu Qing didn’t just take care of her. She also talked to her, like telling her how old Dongdong was, how tall and heavy he was, and how the weather was. That’s how she knew it had already been a month since the last visit.

But over this past month, Mother Qin and Dongdong had not come again. She didn’t know why. But judging from the novel’s plot, when Dongdong grew up and started his business, the Qin family was doing well and still supported him. So no matter what the reason was, the Qin family and Dongdong would definitely be okay.

Then why hadn’t Dongdong come for a whole month?

Was Mother Qin sick? Or was Dongdong sick?

Could it be… Dongdong had gone to Qin Zhan?

But if Dongdong went, he should have told her.

All sorts of guesses made Ning Xin agitated and anxious. She also felt sorry for Dongdong, who was about to face the story’s plot.

The machine kept beeping. Ning Xin’s hospital bed was surrounded by doctors. But the doctors were helpless. Although they had seen similar situations before, back then the beeping would stop before they could take action. Now it kept beeping without stopping. It was the first time they’d encountered this and didn’t know how to proceed. They were afraid of making a mistake and harming the experimental subject.

Professor Yang asked, “Were there any warning signs before? Or anything unusual?”

Yu Qing said, “Same as every day. Nothing stood out…” She paused and then added, “The only difference is that Dongdong hasn’t come for a month. Professor, could it be that the experimental subject waited and didn’t see Dongdong, so the response to the outside world became stronger?”

Professor Yang thought for a moment and then spoke toward Ning Xin’s bed. “Comrade Ning, if you can hear us, I’m telling you now we don’t know why Dongdong hasn’t come for a month. The Qin family hasn’t contacted us either. If you want to know, you’ll have to wake up and ask the Qin family and Dongdong yourself. Dongdong is your son. He is the child you risked your life to give birth to. Since he was a baby who wasn’t even weaned, he came every week to see you.

To be honest, I’ve been a doctor for decades. I’ve seen all kinds of people. The saying ‘there’s no filial child at the bedside of the long-ill’ isn’t just a saying. It’s reality. But Dongdong is different.

Whether in heat or cold, he was never afraid of discomfort. He came to see you, rain or shine, and never missed a week. He is the most obedient, most determined, strongest, and most understanding child I have ever seen…”

“The machine is reacting even more strongly… Professor Yang, she’s really responding to the outside world. She… she opened her eyes.” While Professor Yang was speaking, the people were watching Ning Xin. Then they all widened their eyes. Because they saw that Ning Xin opened her eyes.

Professor Yang’s voice stopped. The machine’s beeping also stopped. The five doctors inside—all five pairs of eyes—stared like they were looking at a precious treasure.

And Ning Xin also opened her eyes wide and looked at everything in front of her. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes. She… she had finally merged with her body. It had been so hard for her. Wuwuwu… The more Ning Xin thought about it, the more upset she became. Five years and nights trapped in this body, facing total darkness, this life was just not for a human.

Wuwuwu…

In the hospital room, Ning Xin cried louder and louder. She was just too happy and couldn’t control herself.

Professor Yang and the others all watched Ning Xin cry. Some even had red eyes. It had been five years, and they finally saw success. Under their persistent and meticulous care and observation, the experimental subject who had been in a coma for five years finally woke up.

No one interrupted Ning Xin’s crying. Some doctors even wanted to cry themselves. These five years were not only hard for Ning Xin, but they were hard for them too. Sticking to an experiment with unknown results—this was their spirit.

Finally, when Ning Xin’s sobbing gradually stopped, Professor Yang asked in a hoarse voice, “Comrade Ning, do you know me?” He was too nervous. Joy and excitement filled his eyes.

“I…” Ning Xin wanted to say that although she had never seen Professor Yang, she had heard his voice almost every day asking about her condition. So she could recognize his voice. But because this body hadn’t spoken for five years, her voice wasn’t used to it.

“I… recognize your… voice.” She spoke word by word, not very fluently. “Professor… Yang.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Yang smiled. “So you really can perceive the outside world.”

“What about me, can you recognize me?” Yu Qing also asked with red eyes. These five years, she had stayed with Ning Xin almost day and night, more than with her own family. Ning Xin, though an experimental subject, had become like a friend to her.

Ning Xin looked at Yu Qing and nodded. “Doctor… Yu.”

“That’s great, really great… wuwuwu…” Yu Qing couldn’t hold back and cried.

Professor Yang said, “Comrade Ning, you just woke up. We need to run some checks on your body.”

Ning Xin nodded.

Ning Xin’s body had been regularly examined by the research team to prevent sudden issues. So after checking now, her body didn’t show much difference from the previous results.

After the examination, Professor Yang looked at the report and said, “Comrade Ning, there are two problems with your body. One is that you are still very weak, but this is not serious and you will recover soon.

The most important issue is that you have not moved for five years. Although we had people massaging your body every day to replace physical movement, the massage is still not your own movement. Your limbs currently have little strength, and even walking is difficult. You will need to undergo rehabilitation.

In addition, we still do not fully understand your medical case. There are many questions we need you to answer. But do not worry. Once you have fully recovered, you can leave here. We will not stop you.”

For Ning Xin, waking up was already the best news. These were not problems. “Tha… thank you all. I… I will cooperate.”

“That is good,” Professor Yang was most afraid that Ning Xin would demand to leave right after waking up. “Then rest for a few days first. Later, I will come again to ask you about your external sensory perception during the coma.”

Ning Xin nodded. “Dong… Dong, can… contact?”

Professor Yang said, “I know the Qin family lives in the compound. As for the specific courtyard, I do not know. But we can arrange someone to inquire.”

Ning Xin once again expressed her gratitude, “Tha… thank you.”