EHTM - 73

Cheng Wanyue wore an orange wool hat, which stood out prominently in the low-saturation main hall. She had just taken fever medicine and was feeling sleepy, sitting in a chair and constantly yawning.

She touched her forehead with her hand, feeling it wasn’t as hot, and took out her phone from her down jacket pocket. Seeing a missed call from Qing Hang, she called him back.

He answered in the last few seconds.

“Are you off work? Are you off work? Are you off work?” She had eaten a casual lunch at the cafeteria, but it wasn’t enough to fill her. “Qing Hang, let’s go have barbecue, and I also want a cup of milk tea. I’ll wait for you downstairs, hurry up!”

Qing Hang forced himself to speak. “...Wanyue.”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me where that barbecue place is; I’ll get takeout.”

She frowned. “Takeout isn’t as good. Eating there yourself is the real experience. I don’t have anything to do tonight anyway, so let’s just eat at the restaurant.”

“...It’s too cold.”

“We’re not sitting outside. Qing Hang, are you very tired today? Then go back and rest; I’ll go with Cheng Yanqing.”

“...I’m not tired, not busy. Wanyue, you’re still feverish...”

“You’re so talkative today,” Cheng Wanyue realized when she looked up that Qing Hang was actually standing not far away, still in his work clothes.

Cheng Wanyue remained seated, her upturned toes wiggling slightly. “If we don’t eat now, we might not get the chance.”

Qing Hang’s throat tightened. “Why wouldn’t we get the chance?”

Her tone was light. “What if it closes down? What if the owner changes professions? The catering industry changes too fast; every time you eat there, it’s one less time.”

“When you’re sick, you should eat bland food.”

“It’s tasteless; I don’t like it.”

Cheng Wanyue hung up the phone in annoyance. Qing Hang watched her from afar, trying to recall Cheng Yanqing’s comforting words: It’s nothing, it’s nothing, just a common fever. Once the fever breaks, she’ll be fine.

People came and went in the hall. The distance wasn’t far, but Qing Hang felt like he had walked for a long time, each step heavy as a thousand pounds.

Cheng Wanyue’s head was turned to the other side, her face clearly showing her displeasure.

Qing Hang squatted in front of her, gently rubbing her hand, and then breathed warm air onto it. “Let’s make do today. We’ll go eat there in a few days, okay?”

Looking at him, his face was very pale.

He added, “There’s no space in the infusion room. Cheng Yanqing is going to handle the hospitalization in a bit.”

“Can’t the nurse just put the needle in first, and I can go home to slowly get the infusion?”

“There are other tests.”

“See? As soon as you come to the hospital, there are endless tests. Even healthy people can get all sorts of minor and major ailments from being put through all this. I should have eaten everything I wanted yesterday. Oh well, I’m not that hungry anyway. Are you done with work? Why don’t you go change first.”

“I’m off work now. I’ll stay here with you and not go anywhere,” Qing Hang pulled up the zipper of her down jacket. “Are you scared?”

Cheng Wanyue smiled. “It’s just two needles. What’s there to be scared of?”

Her reaction was perfectly normal, yet it pained Qing Hang to see.

“I’m very scared,” he said in a low voice. “Wanyue, I’m very scared.”

The blood test results were out. Her parents had been called to the doctor’s office and talked for a long time. Cheng Wanyue actually guessed that the situation might not be good.

The first time, she didn’t have time to be scared. She suddenly fainted, and when she woke up, it was many days later.

This time, she was mentally prepared. The doctor had told her before she was discharged that the chance of recurrence was high.

Cheng Wanyue felt Qing Hang’s body trembling. Her body temperature was high, and in contrast, his hands were very cold. “Are you very nervous? Then let’s sneak out and relax. It’s so cold outside, wandering around the streets is no fun. Let’s still go for barbecue. I’ll come back after eating. Anyway, the tests are tomorrow’s business; a couple of hours won’t make a difference. We have to eat even in the hospital, right? If Cheng Yanqing scolds you, I’ll stand up for you.”

She pulled him up. “Come on, come on, hurry and change.”

They shouldn’t be leaving the hospital now, but Qing Hang saw the smile on her face and gave up resisting. He wanted to go along with her.

At the restaurant, Qing Hang realized Cheng Wanyue didn’t actually want to eat as much as she said; she enjoyed the process of grilling the meat herself and the warm, lively atmosphere more. She even grilled the last piece of pork belly until it was slightly golden before putting it on his plate. He ate everything she grilled, not wasting a single bite.

Everyone was waiting for them in the ward. Before opening the door, the ward was quiet. Cheng Wanyue held the doorknob, and as soon as she pushed the door open a crack, the sounds of conversation inside spilled out.

She entered the room as if coming home, took off her down jacket, and casually tossed it to Cheng Yanqing.

A nurse came to give Cheng Wanyue an IV infusion. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, not watching the needle. Cheng Yanqing joked about her, but even with her face buried in the quilt, she didn’t stay quiet for a moment, still bickering with Cheng Yanqing. Everyone else laughed along, only Qing Hang remained silent.

When Cheng Wanyue fell asleep, Cheng Yanqing told everyone to go back, while he stayed at the hospital.

After leaving the ward, everyone’s faces looked grim.

Zhou Yu was pregnant and had vomited half an hour ago. Cheng Yuzhou took her home and then returned to the hospital. Cheng Yanqing smoked downstairs, one cigarette after another, and was only taken home by Cheng Yuzhou in the latter half of the night.

Cheng Wanyue woke when the nurse removed the needle. Qing Hang was sitting by the bedside; she didn’t know how long he had been watching her. She told him to go back to sleep, but he didn’t move. She pretended to be angry, and only then did he listen to her.

However, Qing Hang didn’t leave at all. After waiting outside for over half an hour, he returned to the ward, leaving again in the morning before she woke up.

During Qing Hang’s daytime work hours, Cheng Wanyue underwent many tests. She still had a fever and looked sickly when she first woke up. Around four in the afternoon, the chief doctor informed her of the preliminary treatment plan.

Cheng Wanyue was dizzy with fever and felt weak. She looked around and only Qing Hang was absent.

“Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I’m sorry.”

She was sick again.

Yang Huimin touched her face, then turned her head to wipe away tears. “Silly child.”

Cheng Yanqing couldn’t bear to hear such words. He’d rather Cheng Wanyue cry and fuss. On New Year’s Eve, she was so lively she almost overturned the whole place, but in the blink of an eye, she was in the hospital.

“Luckily we went for barbecue last night,” Cheng Wanyue sat up to drink porridge, accidentally pressing on the IV tube.

Zhou Yu was right beside her. “Don’t move your hand around, be careful of blood returning. I’ll feed you.”

“It’s fine, I’ll eat myself. Could you help me with my hair?” Cheng Wanyue hadn’t eaten lunch, and her mouth tasted of medicine, making everything bitter. “You all go back and rest. You have to work tomorrow.”

Zhou Yu found a comb to help her with her hair. “It’s still early.”

“It’ll get crowded later, especially you, Ayi. Don’t keep coming to the hospital. Work is already tiring enough; you don’t need to go back and forth. Dad, Mom, Brother, you bought tickets for Saturday, right?”

Cheng Yanqing said, “I’m staying here.”

“Staying for what?” Cheng Wanyue knew he was going to cancel his ticket when she saw him take out his phone. “You all go back to work; come back for Chinese New Year.”

Chinese New Year was still over a month away.

She added, “Or... whoever is free on the weekend can come, don’t let it interfere with other things.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll listen to you,” Cheng Yanqing cleared the bowls and chopsticks. “Lie down if you’re uncomfortable.”

Cheng Wanyue had slept for several hours and actually wanted to get out of bed and move around, but she was still on IV fluids, making everything inconvenient.

Qing Hang came over right after work, only showering first. After the Cheng family left, he pulled up a chair and sat by the bedside, clipping Cheng Wanyue’s fingernails.

With only the two of them left in the ward, it felt empty.

Cheng Wanyue turned on the TV, which happened to be playing “Tom and Jerry.” She watched for a while, laughing so hard the hospital bed shook.

She said she was thirsty and wanted water. Qing Hang handed her the thermos cup from the table. She took a few sips, but her mouth still tasted bitter from the medicine. As she was about to speak, a milk candy was offered to her lips.

Years ago, because of a milk candy, she made him stand for half a class with her.

That was the first time Qing Hang had ever been punished by standing.

So many years had passed, yet the Want Want milk candy still had its original red wrapper with a small figure drawn on it, and the taste hadn’t changed.

The TV was showing commercials, which were boring. Cheng Wanyue chuckled. Qing Hang looked at the TV, then at her, unsure what she was laughing at. She held the milk candy in her mouth, her left cheek puffed out. The light reflected in her eyes, looking like damp tears, but they weren’t.

Qing Hang asked in a low voice, “What are you laughing at?”

“Laughing at you! You didn’t go to work looking like this today, did you? Your clothes aren’t changed, and you haven’t shaved,” Cheng Wanyue took off his glasses and slowly wiped the marks off the lenses with a tissue. “Your glasses are dirty, your hair’s messy, and your shoelaces aren’t tied. You doctors have to run to the patient rooms when you’re in a hurry; what if you trip?”

Qing Hang bent down to tie his shoelaces.

She held out a hand to him. “Do you have any more candy? Give me another one.”

“Yes, but you can’t eat too many,” Qing Hang pulled out a handful from his pocket and placed them all beside her pillow.

Cheng Wanyue picked one at random, peeled off the wrapper, and fed it to Qing Hang.

Outside, he was a doctor; he had his responsibilities and duties. He couldn’t be careless or sloppy and had to remain calm at all times. Only after entering this door could he temporarily set those aside.

He had been to the chief’s office and now knew Cheng Wanyue’s current situation.

“You talked to the doctor for a long time. What did you talk about?” Even though she had been diagnosed, Cheng Wanyue’s mindset hadn’t changed much from before. “I’ve used all those medicines, and I’ve done all those tests. Don’t worry.”

Qing Hang didn’t speak. After a while, he stiffly nodded.

Cheng Wanyue hooked his pinky finger. “Yesterday you asked if I was scared. Actually... at first, I couldn’t accept it either. Why me? I’m so unlucky. But then I felt I was actually very lucky. My family background isn’t bad, Second Uncle and Second Aunt love me dearly, treating me like their own daughter. My parents wouldn’t go bankrupt to treat my illness. They all love me and wouldn’t see me as a burden or a drag. I once saw a four-year-old child who also had this disease, and he could only sleep on the floor outside the hospital at night. His mother truly had no money to continue his treatment and cried, kneeling before him, repeatedly telling him she was sorry.”

She smiled. “Compared to a few years ago, this time I also have you by my side, so what is there to be afraid of?”

Qing Hang clasped her hand. “It was my carelessness. When you caught a cold last time, I should have taken you to the doctor. If I had been more careful, I should have taken you to the hospital on New Year’s Eve.”

Cheng Wanyue herself had thought it was just a common fever.

During their argument, she was indeed in a bad mood and low spirits, feeling dazed every day, unable to muster energy for anything. But her mind was on Qing Hang, and she didn’t think about it in this way.

“A day earlier or a day later doesn’t make much difference. Qing Hang, I wasn’t with you when your grandfather passed away either. Let’s call it even.”

She tilted her head to look out the window. It rarely snowed in Nanjing in winter. “This Chinese New Year, I might have to spend it in the hospital. You just started working here, so you might be assigned to night duty on New Year’s Eve. That’s fine; I can secretly go see you.”

Qing Hang suddenly stood up. “I’m going to the cafeteria to eat.”

He forgot to put on his coat; his back looked thin. Cheng Wanyue called out to him, reminding him to put on his clothes. “Go back after you eat, take a hot shower, get a good night’s sleep, and then come tomorrow.”

“Mm,” Qing Hang vaguely responded.

The stone pressing on his heart sank inch by inch. He closed the door, leaned against the wall, his refined brows and eyes looking stark and pale.

Qing Hang listened to Cheng Wanyue, went back to shower, shave, blow-dry his hair, and put on clean clothes, but he didn’t listen to her about getting a good night’s sleep at home. Instead, he went back to the ward, leaving in the morning before she woke up, just like the day before.

He studied medical records at night, and during the day, he found time to contact other experienced doctors. The first thing he did after work was rush to the inpatient department. Before knocking, he would go to the restroom to tidy his clothes and hair and wipe his glasses clean.

Cheng Wanyue’s primary nurse already recognized Qing Hang and greeted him when they met.

Qing Hang followed her into the ward. Cheng Yanqing was also there.

Cheng Wanyue had an indwelling needle in her left hand, which was very uncomfortable, and she kept wanting to scratch it. Cheng Yanqing peeled a kumquat and kept putting segments into her hand to keep her right hand occupied.

These small kumquats she was eating were much sweeter than the ornamental kumquat tree at home.

“You just finished your night shift, why don’t you get some sleep?” Cheng Yanqing had a flight tomorrow and planned to stay overnight at the hospital today.

“Not sleepy yet; I’ll sleep later,” Qing Hang walked closer, tucking in Cheng Wanyue’s blanket. “Did you have breakfast?”

Cheng Wanyue pointed to the insulated lunchbox on the table. “I had pumpkin porridge; I left half for you. It should still be warm.”

The nurse changed Cheng Wanyue’s IV bag to red medicine and took her temperature. She actually had little appetite, but the kumquats were sweet, so she ate a few more.

Qing Hang finished the remaining porridge with the spoon she had used, and then she started to shoo him away.

He wanted to stay a bit longer. “I’ve only been here for a few minutes.”

“Cheng Yanqing is here; he’s easy to order around,” if Cheng Wanyue weren’t on an IV, she would have gotten out of bed and pushed Qing Hang out. “No matter how much you try to hide, you can’t conceal the bloodshot in your eyes. How many days have you gone without sleep? Do you think you’re a perpetual motion machine?”

She extended one foot from under the covers, rubbing her toes against Qing Hang’s leg. “I miss Meiqiu a bit. Video call me when you wake up so I can see Meiqiu. Bring me a blue hat when you come. If there isn’t one in my room, ask Ayi.”

Qing Hang nodded in agreement. “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?”

Cheng Wanyue thought for a moment. In two days, she might not even be able to eat porridge. “Buy two plum blossom cakes with red bean paste.”

Qing Hang went downstairs to the cashier and pre-deposited some funds.

Cheng Guoan and Yang Huimin had left before Qing Hang went to the Cheng family home. Everyone else had to go to work as usual, so only the housekeeper was at home, without even a hint of extra noise.

The kumquat tree placed by the sofa was still vibrant. Cheng Wanyue had originally hung some small fairy lights on the tree, which twinkled when plugged in at night, but they were destroyed by Meiqiu and Nuomi on the first day.

Qing Hang went upstairs and entered Cheng Wanyue’s room.

He slept deeply and didn’t wake until dusk.

Meiqiu scratched at the door outside, making rustling sounds. Zhou Yu was about to pick it up and carry it away when the door suddenly opened. Before Qing Hang could bend down, Meiqiu ran into the room from his feet, jumped onto the bed, walked from the foot of the bed to the head, then绕到 the other side, finally sitting by the pillow and meowing softly twice.

After dinner, Qing Hang asked Zhou Yu if she had a blue hat. Zhou Yu knew it was for Cheng Wanyue, so she and Cheng Yuzhou went to the walk-in closet to look for one.

Qing Hang sat on the sofa. Meiqiu snuggled up to him, crawling through the gap under his arm into his embrace. Only then did he come to his senses and video called Cheng Wanyue.

She held the phone very close, talking to Meiqiu sporadically. Later, she fell asleep, and the phone lay face down on the bed, the screen completely dark. Qing Hang couldn’t see anything.

Listening carefully, he could faintly hear her breathing.

Zhou Yu didn’t find a blue hat and told Qing Hang to look again in Cheng Wanyue’s room; it might be in a cabinet somewhere, as Cheng Wanyue always misplaced things.

Qing Hang searched even the bedside table but still found nothing. Finally, he opened the desk drawer.

In the drawer were two Polaroid photo albums. Qing Hang found a group photo of the three Cheng siblings inside. It was taken in a hospital room, with Cheng Wanyue laughing on the hospital bed, and Cheng Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqing fighting over a hat. All three of them were bald.

Cheng Yuzhou went to the mall and bought a blue wool hat. Just as he arrived downstairs, he looked up and noticed a tiny glimmer of light on the balcony. The streetlights weren’t very bright, so Cheng Yuzhou couldn’t see clearly. It was Cheng Wanyue’s room, and the person smoking on the balcony could only be Qing Hang.

It wasn’t just smoking.

He was crying.

No sobs were emitted, only heavy breathing similar to someone who had been drowning. He didn’t even hear a car pull into the driveway.

After the light of that cigarette extinguished, he completely merged into the darkness.

A neighbor’s car passed by on the road, its headlights illuminating Qing Hang, who was crouched on the balcony, his head bowed very low.

Cheng Yuzhou looked away, entered the house, went upstairs, and hung the purchased hat on Cheng Wanyue’s doorknob.

Zhou Yu wasn’t sleeping or eating well. Cheng Yuzhou woke up early to make her breakfast. Before leaving, Qing Hang greeted them as usual, showing no signs of having cried bitterly in the middle of the night.

“He probably only slept yesterday these past few days,” Zhou Yu worried that Qing Hang’s body wouldn’t be able to handle it. “Let’s tell Mom and Dad; let Qing Hang stay in Wanyue’s room.”

Cheng Wanyue spent most of her time at the hospital, so the room was empty. Cheng Yuzhou had no objections. “Yes, I’ve already given him a key; he can come anytime.”

The more Zhou Yu thought about it, the worse she felt. After Cheng Wanyue started treatment, she visibly became thinner and weaker day by day. Zhou Yu had asked Qing Hang to come back for the hat because she knew her hair would be shaved.

“The family neglected Wanyue because of my pregnancy. We should have gone to the hospital much earlier,” she turned her back to wipe her eyes. “And as a result, so many days were delayed.”

“You’re pregnant, and the whole family is happy, Yueyue included,” Cheng Yuzhou walked over and hugged her. “Don’t overthink it; you have me.”