Chapter 51 A chance encounter during a hospital visit: Zhou Yaozheng lightly touched Mo Ningzhi's...

When Mo Ningzhi rushed to the hospital, Mo Tingzhou had already been transferred from the emergency room to a regular ward, where Zhou Suiyin was staying with him.

Mo Tingzhou's condition was a sudden illness. He was still at work when he suddenly suffered acute heart failure. Fortunately, his secretary discovered it in time, and he was taken to the hospital before missing the best time for treatment. He stayed in the emergency department for two days and was then successfully transferred to a regular ward.

The emergency ward was crowded and the environment was not good. Zhou Suiyin had been staying at the bedside for several days straight, and she looked quite haggard with deep dark circles under her eyes.

"Ningzhi is here, please sit down." She stood up and made room for her closest seat to the bed. "Have you eaten? Xiao Qi will bring you some food later, I'll bring you some too?"

Xiao Qi is Mo Tingzhou's personal assistant. It was Xiao Qi who discovered Mo Tingzhou's illness in time and took him to the hospital.

Mo Tingzhou lay in bed, with many tubes attached to his body and hands. He took off his oxygen mask and said in a hoarse voice, "The hospital smells bad. Take him home to eat. I'm fine."

After he finished speaking, he coughed twice.

In Mo Ningzhi's mind, Mo Tingzhou was a little old man who liked to argue with him. When he glared and cursed, his voice was deafening, and he was in good spirits. But now, a sudden illness seemed to have worn away all his energy. He had become extremely thin, his cheeks were sunken, and the blanket covering him made it almost impossible to see any movement.

Mo Ningzhi had never realized so clearly before that Mo Tingzhou was getting old, his physical condition was declining, and he was no longer the young man who could yell at him at any time.

Mo Ningzhi hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the bed: "I'm not hungry right now, Aunt Zhou. Could you ask Xiao Qi to bring me some dinner too? I'll stay in the ward tonight, so you can go home and get some rest."

Zhou Suiyin said, "Can you handle it? I heard from Xiaozheng that you were away on a business trip for a month. You came here as soon as you landed. Your body can't take it."

“It’s okay, I slept on the plane,” Mo Ningzhi said.

Although Zhou Suiyin was worried, she felt this was a good opportunity for the father and son to mend their relationship, so she gave them a few instructions and went home to rest.

"I'm really fine. You must be exhausted from your month-long business trip." Mo Tingzhou tried to sit up, but Mo Ningzhi went over to help him and put a pillow behind his back to make him more comfortable.

Mo Tingzhou took a breath and looked him over carefully: "You've lost some weight and gotten darker. You must have suffered a lot in the Northwest. But it's good this way. This is more like a man."

Mo Ningzhi poured him a glass of water: "Is there any more?"

The son seemed to be in a stable mood and his attitude was quite gentle. Old Man Mo had no guard up and said whatever came to mind. A lot of things just came out of his mouth: "You look like your mother. You have fair skin and good looks. You've been like a jade carving since you were little. You are good-looking, but you don't have any manly qualities."

Mo Ningzhi asked with a forced smile, "Is there anything else?"

"It looks good as it does now." Mo Tingzhou drank some water and casually put the blanket on the bedside table. "It would look like me if it were dark."

Without a second thought, Mo Ningzhi said, "Then I'll just go back for nothing."

Mo Tingzhou was taken aback, then smiled after a moment.

He had been out of oxygen for a while, and Mo Ningzhi smiled slightly as she put her mask back on. "You rest for a bit, I'll go find the attending physician to ask about the situation."

Mo Tingzhou is staying at a private hospital. He invested a lot of money in the hospital in previous years and is considered a shareholder. The attending physician's surname is Li, and he has been in charge of Mo Tingzhou's physical examinations for the years. He knows the situation best.

Mo Ningzhi stayed in the doctor's office for forty minutes before finally breathing a sigh of relief when she came out.

Old Mo's symptoms looked serious, but after treatment, his condition was brought under control, and he can gradually recover with further medication.

As long as the patient's condition is closely monitored over the next few days, and indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate remain stable for more than 24 hours, the patient can be discharged and go home to recuperate.

Mo Ningzhi's tense nerves finally relaxed a bit. He sat at the end of the corridor for a few minutes to rest before remembering to call Qin Weijin. Two hours had passed since they parted at the airport, and it was already dark, and he still hadn't told his boyfriend that he wouldn't be going home to sleep that night.

Qin Weijin answered the phone quickly, "How's the situation?"

"It's a little better than I expected." Mo Ningzhi leaned back in her chair, slowly stretching out her legs. "I'm not coming back tonight, so you don't need to wait for me for dinner."

Qin Weijin seemed to be cooking. After hearing this, the noisy clattering of pots and pans on his end stopped: "Is Uncle very ill?"

"Fortunately, there's no danger to his life, but he still needs to be observed for a few days." Mo Ningzhi paused and said, "I probably won't be able to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with you."

“It’s okay, we have a long way to go,” Qin Weijin said. “You can call me anytime if you need anything.”

Mo Ningzhi leaned back, resting her head against the wall, and laughed, "Even in the middle of the night?"

Qin emphasized again for Jin: "At any time."

Mo Ningzhi chuckled. Qin Weijin's voice seemed to have a magical power; even after only two hours apart, Mo Ningzhi already missed him. "Brother Jin..."

"Hmm?" Qin Weijin's voice was unusually calm and gentle.

Mo Ningzhi paused for a moment, then said, "It's alright. You've been busy for a month straight. You should get some rest. My dad's secretary is here. I'll go talk to him first."

"good."

Xiao Qi's real name is Qi Sai. He holds two master's degrees and was hired by Mo Tingzhou a few years ago at a high price. Although he is called a secretary, he is actually similar to a vice president, and most of the company's business goes through him.

Mo Ningzhi stopped him at the door of the ward. "Secretary Qi, don't go in yet. I have some questions for you."

Qi Sai readily agreed: "Please speak."

"How's business at the company lately?" Mo Ningzhi always felt that Mo Tingzhou's illness was strange. He had a physical examination every year and a family doctor to monitor his health, so there was no reason for him to suddenly fall ill.

After much thought, Mo Ningzhi could only think of the heavy workload of the company and the heart failure caused by Mo Tingzhou's overwork.

"It's alright, it's running normally, but the two large projects added a few months ago conflict with the newly implemented economic policies. Chairman Mo has been working overtime for half a month straight and refuses to rest," Qi Sai said.

This is probably the cause of the illness. Mo Ningzhi then asked, "Doesn't Zhou Yaozheng care?"

Qi Sai answered without hesitation: "President Zhou is mainly in charge of the company's overseas projects. He returned from the Northwest half a month ago and then went abroad on business."

As he spoke, he glanced at his watch: "He's also on a flight back to China today, landing around... 1 a.m.

Mo Ningzhi nodded. "I understand. Thank you for keeping an eye on the company these past few days. Any extra workload will be reflected in your quarterly bonus."

Qi Sai gently pushed up his glasses and said sincerely, "This is what I should do."

...

When Mo Ningzhi returned to the ward, Mo Tingzhou was already bored and had picked up some fruit to eat while making a phone call to assign tasks to his subordinates.

"...I'll discuss the specific plan with Xiao Qi before the holiday. Okay, send the report to my email and get it signed? If it's urgent, have the manager go to the hospital. If not, have Xiao Qi go through it first. Okay, that's all. Call me anytime if you have any questions."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his phone was snatched away swiftly. Old Mo, still maintaining the airs of a big boss, turned around and demanded, "What are you doing?"

Seeing that it was Mo Ningzhi, his expression slowly relaxed: "You're back. Why did you take so long?"

Mo Ningzhi, like a headmaster, expressionlessly confiscated the phone and opened each lunchbox. Mo Tingzhou knew who had delivered it just by looking at the food: "Xiao Qi was here?"

"right."

"Why didn't you let him in? I even asked him to bring me something." Mo Tingzhou looked towards the door.

Mo Ningzhi raised her eyes: "You mean those documents?"

Mo Tingzhou paused for two seconds, then asked, "Yes, he was handed over to you?"

Mo Ningzhi set up a small table, laid out the food, placed the chopsticks next to Old Man Mo, and said indifferently, "No, I told him to take them back."

Mo Tingzhou immediately became anxious upon hearing this: "How can you take it back? Several proposals are urgent, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, so the employees will be on holiday. You should call him right away and have the documents sent over again."

Mo Ning, realizing the bowl had been a bit too heavy, put it down. "Will the company go bankrupt without you?"

The old man was taken aback by his rudeness.

After a few seconds of pause, Mo Ningzhi softened her tone and said, "Isn't Zhou Yaozheng the general manager? The document was handed over to his secretary."

Mo Tingzhou breathed a sigh of relief, "I knew you wouldn't be so reckless."

The old man had spent the first half of his life working hard for the company. Perhaps it was out of habit, or perhaps he couldn't bear to give it up, but even on his sickbed, he couldn't bear to put down his work.

But now, looking at Mo Ningzhi sitting across from him, eating quietly, he suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he and Mo Ningzhi had a peaceful meal together.

The old man was silent for a while, then started making conversation: "How's the studio preparation going?"

“No preparations were made,” Mo Ningzhi said.

After a moment's thought, Old Mo understood: "Still working as an assistant?"

"Um."

When do you plan to resign?

The son, who had been rebellious for over a decade, said, "I don't want to quit for now."

"..."

The old man took a breath and choked on the soup.

The relationship between the father and son was neither close nor distant, stuck in a stalemate.

Elders always like to worry about how the younger generation eats. Seeing Mo Ningzhi picking carrots out of his bowl one by one, Mo Tingzhou seemed to see his son who was very close to him when he was a child. "Carrots are nutritious and good for the eyes. You young people should eat more of them."

Mo Ningzhi said, "There's nothing wrong with my eyes."

“It will be too late if problems arise later,” Mo Tingzhou said.

The picky eater paused for a few seconds, then picked up the broccoli that the old man didn't like, saying, "Broccoli is nutritious and good for your health. You older people should eat more of it, otherwise it will be too late if you have problems."

Mo Tingzhou: "..."

This drafty cotton-padded coat.

Perhaps because he rarely saw Old Man Mo so openly humiliated, Mo Ningzhi lowered his eyes and paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled with his eyes crinkling.

Mo Tingzhou paused for a few seconds, then lowered his head and smiled.

After that laugh, the father and son, who had seemed a little distant, suddenly became much closer.

After dinner, Mo Tingzhou watched his son bring in a rolled-up blanket and wondered, "The sofa is too narrow to sleep on. I had someone set up a bed for you, and it will be brought over later. You can sleep next to your father."

Mo Ningzhi nodded. "Okay."

The bed arrived an hour later. The mattress was very soft, but it was probably moved to a different place. Mo Ningzhi had some insomnia and wanted to chat with Qin Weijin, but she was worried about disturbing his rest. She tossed and turned until late at night before finally falling asleep.

...

Zhou Yaozheng's flight was delayed, and he didn't land until 7 a.m. He didn't go home; instead, he went straight to the hospital.

It was just past eight o'clock, and the doctors and nurses had just started their shifts. He walked into the ward and happened to meet a nurse. "Are you the family member of bed number 2? The patient has been taken by the attending physician for examination. Please wait a moment."

Zhou Yaozheng glanced into the ward and noticed a bulge on the bed: "This isn't a private room?"

"Hmm?" The nurse turned to look at him, lowering her voice slightly, "You mean that one? He's also a family member. Mr. Mo said he's his son, but he's too tired from his business trip and asked us not to bother him."

Zhou Yaozheng's eyes flickered: "I understand, you can go out now."

The room became quiet, even the sunlight falling on the windowsill seemed very soft. Zhou Yaozheng slowly walked into the ward, his footsteps almost inaudible.

The person on the bed was still asleep, breathing lightly, showing no signs of waking up. Zhou Yaozheng walked straight to the sofa on the inside and sat down, not glancing at the bed even once.

He dared not.

But the room was too quiet, so quiet that he could almost hear the sound in his own chest. Zhou Yaozheng picked up a miscellaneous book from the armrest, wondering who had left it there.

Zhou Yaozheng looked at it for five minutes, but couldn't absorb a single word.

Instead, he saw Mo Ningzhi clearly through the edges of the book.

He slept soundly, covered with a thin blanket, his body slightly curled up, his face turned to one side, the taut veins on his neck extending into the blanket.

After spending a month in the Northwest, Mo Ningzhi was still very fair-skinned. The light from the window sill fell on the exposed side of his cheek, making it seem as if a layer of glistening down was floating on his skin.

By the time Zhou Yaozheng realized what was happening, he was already standing by the bed.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, nor did he want to do anything. Zhou Yaozheng watched quietly for a while, then reached out his hand, hesitated, and hovered it in mid-air. After a moment, he slowly lowered it and gently touched the tail of Mo Ningzhi's eyebrow.

However, even this tiny movement startled the person in the dream.

Mo Ningzhi frowned impatiently in his sleep.

After some time, Mo Tingzhou returned from his checkup. He opened the door and immediately saw Zhou Yaozheng on the sofa. "Yaozheng's here."

"Uncle Mo." The man on the sofa stood up, dressed in a sharp suit, his handsome face exuding elegance, still the ever-victorious general who strategized and won in the business world.

The little bit of emotion that I had inadvertently revealed was hidden in the light and shadow in the corner of the wall.