Although she had mentally prepared herself in advance, the moment she actually saw that frail body lying on the hospital bed through the glass, with tubes sticking out all over, Wen Baozhu still couldn't control herself. Her vision went black for a moment.
Since they entered the hospital, the man had been holding her hand tightly all the time.
In the quiet corridor, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.
The warmth from his palm spread to hers, but the woman was oblivious. Her blood ran cold.
The doctor walked over, took off his mask, and his gaze fell on Wen Baozhu. "Are you the patient's family member?"
Wen Baozhu nodded, her eyes never leaving the direction of the old woman.
The doctor lowered his head to look through the medical records. His face grew solemn. "Since there was a plan for a kidney transplant before, and there was a kidney donor available recently, the hospital contacted the family. Why didn't you send the patient here?"
Wen Baozhu's heart tightened.
Why?
She had to ask Zhang Sumei about this.
But now she couldn't even be reached!
Wen Baozhu, who was far away in Hong Kong, knew nothing. She thought her mother had taken good care of her grandmother!
Perhaps realizing that it was too late to talk about this now, the doctor sighed. "The patient's condition has been getting worse these days. The family should spend more time with her."
"… If there are no accidents, it will be these few days."
The implicit hint in his words was self - evident.
Wen Baozhu's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Her mind went completely blank. She was in a complete daze, with a stunned look on her face.
It was so hard to digest this news. She choked for a long time. Her voice kept swirling in her throat. It took her a long time to utter a sentence: "… Is there really no other way?"
The doctor shook his head.
She turned to look at Fu Lian. Her face was full of sorrow, and her eyes were full of helplessness.
Her throat bobbed up and down. She kept asking herself in her mind: What should I do?
Her mind was blank, with only three words left: What should I do?
What should she do?
What should her grandmother do?
What should she do in the future?
The collapse of her spiritual pillar was so sudden. She closed her eyes gently, and even her breathing trembled in the air.
It turned out that when one was extremely sad, they couldn't cry.
One would even doubt whether all this was real or just a dream.
How she hoped it was just a dream.
So when the tears slid down from the corners of her eyes, she didn't even realize it.
She just reached out to touch her face and found that there was a wet liquid sliding down her chin.
Her body trembled slightly out of control. It wasn't until she finally calmed down that she took several deep breaths. "Can I go in now?"
The doctor looked at her with pity. "Yes. Put on the protective suit first."
Fu Lian watched her quietly. One moment she was on the verge of collapse, and the next moment she was responding calmly and rationally.
He frowned slightly, not knowing whether it was because she was too strong or too good at pretending.
Before she went in, Fu Lian wanted to pat her on the shoulder for comfort, but she walked so fast that his hand only lifted halfway and didn't have time to fall.
The man paused for a brief moment and put his hand back into his pocket.
In front of the glass door of the ICU, Fu Lian's gaze was deep as he stared at the figure kneeling beside the bed.
…
Inside the intensive care unit.
Wen Baozhu remembered that when she left Fucheng, although her grandmother was already bedridden, she was still energetic and in good spirits. But now she was so thin that she seemed to be just skin and bones. There were thin transparent tubes sticking out from the exposed parts of her hands and legs.
The skin on her rolled - up sleeve was jaundiced, a sickly color. Her eyes and cheeks were sunken, looking like a withered skeleton.
If the window in the ward could be opened, it seemed that a gentle breeze could blow her grandmother away.
She had never seen her grandmother like this before.
Wen Baozhu closed her eyes and tried hard to hold back the surging heat in her eyes.
The little old lady had been a capable person all her life. Even in her old age, she always dressed herself neatly and decently. But now she was lying on the hospital bed, and her breathing was getting lighter and lighter. Her life force was so weak that she was entirely relying on the medical equipment.
The real feeling of loss made Wen Baozhu's heart panic.
She held back her hot tears and choked out, "Grandma..."
As soon as her voice came out, the heart - rate monitor on the bedside suddenly showed strong fluctuations. The old woman on the bed trembled and tried hard to turn her head to see the person clearly.
"… Bao… Baozhu…"
The old woman's aged voice came out through the oxygen mask. Wen Baozhu's eyes instantly turned red. She replied loudly, "I'm here, Grandma. It's me. I'm Baozhu."
The old woman's eyes could hardly open. She could only open them a tiny bit to look at the tearful girl in front of her.
After recognizing the face, the old woman's dry and cracked lips curved into a smile.
She tried hard to lift the arm with the needle tube, but it only reached halfway into the air. Wen Baozhu quickly leaned over and let the old woman's palm touch her cheek.
"… Don't cry." The old woman bent her fingers and wiped away the tears on her face. Her tone was full of relief. "Our Baozhu… Baozhu is back."
The grief came like a raging tide, filling her up.
Wen Baozhu opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to be stuffed with catkins. She was like an allergic patient and couldn't make a sound at all.
She wanted to see her grandmother more clearly, but her eyes were blurred with tears, and she couldn't wipe them clean no matter how hard she tried.
"Baozhu is back from school. Did you listen to the teacher carefully at school today?"
It seemed that the old woman had entered the state of a life - review. In her eyes, Wen Baozhu had become the little Baozhu who carried a schoolbag and came back from school more than a decade ago.
She tightly held Wen Baozhu's hand and murmured tremulously, "Is Baozhu hungry? Grandma will cook taro balls in syrup for you. It will be ready soon… soon."
Wen Baozhu maintained the position of being tightly held by the old woman. She didn't dare to move at all, letting the tears pour down silently.
Saying so many words had exhausted all the old woman's strength. Maybe she was too sleepy, or perhaps she finally found relief. The strength in her hand suddenly loosened at a certain point and then dropped onto Wen Baozhu's arm.
Wen Baozhu held her breath.
"Grandma! Grandma!"
The fluctuating line graph on the monitor instantly turned into a straight line that remained unchanged for a long time, cruelly announcing the end of life.
At the same time, the shrill and continuous beeping sound also rang out.
Urgent, continuous, and monotonous.
In a daze, it seemed that she had suddenly returned more than a decade ago. The lively girl pushed open the door of her home and shouted loudly, "Grandma, I'm so hungry!"
The old woman was well - prepared. She walked out of the kitchen with a blue - and - white porcelain bowl filled with red syrup and taro balls.
"Drink slowly. Don't be in a hurry. Don't spill it on your clothes - "
…
Fu Lian helped Wen Baozhu arrange her grandmother's funeral.
It had been raining continuously in Fucheng for four or five days, and it finally cleared up on the day of Wen Baozhu's grandmother's funeral.
The sun was shining brightly as if spring had arrived, after the long - lasting clouds.
No other relatives or friends were invited. In fact, there weren't many relatives or friends. Only Wen Baozhu, Fu Lian, and A Yan, who drove for them, came to the funeral.
Seeing Wen Baozhu with swollen eyes and a dazed expression, A Yan couldn't bear to look her in the eye.
He felt really guilty.
In this long - term deception and concealment, although he wasn't the mastermind, as an accomplice, he couldn't help but feel self - reproach.
As an ordinary person, he actually felt a little pity for this woman whose fate was not in her own hands.
This pity was magnified infinitely after her grandmother's death.
People could choose to degenerate or progress, but at least the decision was in their own hands. They shouldn't be marionettes, with every word and deed being arranged by others.
Watching Wen Baozhu bend down and get into the car first, and then Fu Lian close the car door, A Yan dared to ask carefully, "Mr. Fu, should we contact Ms. Zhang Sumei? She is in Macau now. Our people are keeping an eye on her. As long as you give the order, we can immediately…"
Fu Lian lowered his eyes and looked at the person inside the car through the window glass.
She had lost more weight in these days. Although she would respond when he told her to eat and sleep, he could always hear her suppressed sobs at night.
He was wearing a neat black suit. His eyes showed little emotion, but his aura was still intimidating.
He said, "No need."