134. Sheng Nan's Last Words

Ling Ling's copywriting communication meeting that day was quite intense. She didn't want to disturb Sheng Nan's rest, so she went to hold the meeting in a corner of the KFC in front of the hospital. Finally, the meeting was over. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to pack up and go back to the ward. She felt that someone beside her had been looking in her direction. She looked back and saw that it was Zhong Mingtong. Across from him sat a thin old man with a similar face and eyebrows to him. Ling Ling walked over to greet him with her computer bag, "Hello, Doctor Zhong, are you doctors willing to eat junk food?" "My father has never eaten it, so I brought him here to try it." Zhong Mingtong answered kindly. Ling Ling immediately felt that she had said something wrong and had rashly made a silly joke to him in front of his father. Zhong Mingtong, however, didn't seem to care. He continued to look at her deeply as usual, smiling faintly, and said, "I see you've been in such a long meeting. You didn't eat lunch, did you? Let's eat together. I'll order your portion. Didn't you say that the family bucket can always make you full of energy?" In front of an unfamiliar old man, their ambiguous exchange of words made Ling Ling feel very uncomfortable, but she really couldn't refuse, so she had to sit down politely. As soon as she sat down, Zhong Mingtong's father picked out a fried chicken leg from the family bucket and handed it to her. Before she could take it, Zhong Mingtong called out to her father awkwardly, "Dad - Lingling, just help yourself." Zhong's father froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. He realized that it was a bit unhygienic for him to grab food and hand it to a girl with his bare hands. He was about to return the food with an apology, but Ling Ling graciously took it from him, "Thank you, uncle. I think this chicken leg is the biggest. I won't be polite then." Ling Ling smiled sincerely, and the awkward atmosphere between the three of them instantly dissipated. Before leaving, Zhong Mingtong said he had another surgery that afternoon. Ling Ling casually said, "Good luck to you." Zhong Mingtong replied, "I hope this good luck will also fall on things that are related to you." Ling Ling shyly glanced at Zhong's father, who was packing his backpack, wondering if he had heard her. Ling Ling was on her way back to the ward with her computer. As she stepped onto the steps of the inpatient department, she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw that it was Zhong Mingtong who had caught up with her. He handed her a small coarse cloth package and said breathlessly, "This is osmanthus cake made by a relative from my hometown. If you don't mind, you can try it. My dad insisted that I give it to you." "Ah, thank you so much, uncle!" Ling Ling opened it directly, broke off a large piece and put it in her mouth. "Hmm, it's delicious! I wish Shengnan could eat it too. I really want her to try it too..."

Ling Ling's copywriting communication meeting that day was quite intense. She was afraid of disturbing Sheng Nan's rest, so she held the meeting in a corner of the KFC in front of the hospital.

Finally, she finished the meeting and breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to pack up and return to the ward when she felt someone beside her looking in her direction.

She followed his gaze and saw that the person was Zhong Mingtong. Opposite him sat a thin old man who looked somewhat similar to him.

Ling Ling walked over to greet him, carrying her computer bag. "Hello, Doctor Zhong. Do you doctors eat junk food?"

"My father has never eaten it, so I brought him here to try it." Zhong Mingtong answered kindly.

Ling Ling immediately felt that she had spoken out of turn and had rashly made a silly joke to him in front of his father.

Zhong Mingtong, however, didn't seem to care. He continued to gaze at her deeply as usual, smiled faintly, and said, "I see you've been in such a long meeting. You didn't eat lunch, did you? Come on, I'll order your portion. Didn't you say that the family bucket can always revive you?"

Ling Ling felt very uncomfortable with their ambiguous conversation in front of a strange old man, but she really had no way to refuse, so she had to sit down politely.

As soon as she sat down, Zhong Mingtong's father picked out a fried chicken leg from the family bucket and handed it to her. Before she could take it, Zhong Mingtong called out to her father awkwardly: "Dad - Lingling, just help yourself."

Mr. Zhong froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. He then realized that it was a bit unhygienic for him to hand the food to the girl with his bare hands. He was about to return the food apologetically, but Ling Ling took it graciously. "Thank you, uncle. I think this chicken leg is the biggest. I won't be polite then."

Ling Ling smiled sincerely, and the awkward atmosphere between the three of them was instantly dispelled.

Before leaving, Zhong Mingtong said that he had another surgery in the afternoon, and Ling Ling casually said, "I wish you good luck."

Zhong Mingtong replied, "I hope this good luck will also fall on things related to you."

Ling Ling shyly glanced at Mr. Zhong who was packing his backpack, not knowing whether he had heard it or not.

Ling Ling was on her way back to the ward with her computer. As soon as she stepped onto the stairs of the inpatient department, she heard someone calling her name. When she turned around, she saw that it was Zhong Mingtong chasing after her.

He handed her a small cloth package and said breathlessly, "This is the sweet-scented osmanthus cake made by my relatives in my hometown. If you don't mind, you can try it. My father insisted that I give it to you."

"Ah, thank you so much, uncle!" Ling Ling opened it directly, broke off a large piece and put it in her mouth, "Mmm, it's delicious! It would be great if Shengnan could eat it too. I really want her to try it too."

Seeing that Zhong Mingtong was staring at her with a rather drawn-out gaze, Ling Ling quickly changed the subject and said, "You should go back and stay with your uncle. It's a rare opportunity for the old man to come."

"Oh, I originally brought him here to check out his old leg pain. He's finished checking it out today and he's ready to go back."

"Are you leaving so soon? I should treat him to a meal."

"He wanted to leave as soon as possible, saying - let me focus on my relationship."

Zhong Mingtong's words left Ling Ling a bit overwhelmed. There was a brief silence between the two of them. Zhong Mingtong's hand gently touched her hair, and Ling Ling's shoulders trembled slightly.

"It's a locust tree flower that fell on your head. It's pretty nice, though." He smiled a little foolishly.

She avoided his gaze and glanced around, and she ran into Yu Chuanbei standing in the corner not far away. She was startled, not knowing how much he had heard or what he had seen.

Immediately, she relaxed again - they were no longer a couple, a fact she had not yet gotten used to.

Seeing that she had noticed him, Yu Chuanbei walked towards them. He nodded to Zhong Mingtong, then turned to Ling Ling and said, "Hao Shengnan asked me to come. I just found out about her."

Ling Ling had no idea what Sheng Nan was up to, so she just said "oh" as casually as possible, then stepped aside to make way, indicating that he could do as he pleased.

Yu Chuanbei entered the inpatient building and went to find Shengnan's ward.

Ling Ling and Ming Tong were silent for a few seconds. Ming Tong then said, "I'm going to get back to work. See you tomorrow."

"Well, go ahead and get busy. See you tomorrow." Ling Ling repeated the nonsense literature.

She couldn't bring herself to go back to the ward. Unsure what Shengnan and Yu Chuanbei were going to discuss, she settled down beneath the canopy-like Sophora japonica tree, stealing a moment of leisure to savor the tranquility of "mountains floating, treetops tumbling, clouds moving; dewdrops dripping from lotus leaves, water flowing." Her nerves had been so tense these days, and she couldn't sleep well at night while accompanying the patient in the hospital. She pinched another piece of osmanthus cake, popped it into her mouth, closed her eyes, and basked in the warm spring sun. The mellow, simple flavor of the cake brought an inexplicable sense of peace to her heart.

She didn't know how long this went on until she heard hesitant footsteps behind her. She looked up and saw Yu Chuanbei coming out. She stood up and looked at him, not intending to say anything, just wanting to walk around him and leave.

"Are you--okay?" Yu Chuanbei followed her closely for two steps, but couldn't help asking her.

"Well, just like what you see." Ling Ling said coldly.

Yu Chuanbei wanted to ask about her recovery, but seeing her attitude, he could only say, "Zhong Mingtong is quite good. If there's anything I can help you with in the future, you can always contact me, no matter what it is."

After saying that, he saw that she still had no intention of paying attention to him, so he turned and left.

After seeing him leave, Ling Ling froze for a few seconds, because she hadn't expected Yu Chuanbei to say that Zhong Mingtong was not bad. But she didn't want to dwell on it anymore, and she didn't want his words to interfere with her emotions and judgment.

When she returned to the ward, she saw that Shengnan was exhausted again and didn't want to ask her any more questions.

"You saw Yu Chuanbei again, how do you feel?" Sheng Nan's frail body couldn't suppress his curious heart.

"You feel calm and at peace, but things and people have changed. Why did you call him here?" Ling Ling acted like an adolescent daughter throwing a tantrum at her mother.

"See my idol one last time before you die."

"Isn't your idol Ren Qingshi?"

"I've slept with that one, but not this one yet. Right now, my expectations of them are different."

Ling Ling rolled her eyes and didn't want to pay any more attention to her.

By the third week, Shengnan's condition was getting worse, she often fell into a state of confusion, but on Wednesday morning, she suddenly regained consciousness. Lingling stayed by her bedside, listening to her somewhat disorganized final words for the nth time:

"Ling'er, I've changed my mind. I don't want to go back to that old, run-down house alone. I have to go to the public toilet at the entrance of the alley even to use the restroom. I'd better be buried in a cemetery. My grandparents were buried in Chaoyang Cemetery. I asked last month and there's a vacant space next to them. I can go there. With my grandparents by my side, I won't be lonely. Of course, I heard that I have to pay the management fee every few years. If it's convenient for you, please help me pay it. If it's not convenient, forget it. I guess by then I should have a firm foothold in the underworld and won't have to worry about the formalities of the world of the living.

As long as I can be with my grandparents, I feel like I can find happiness again. I've been missing them so much lately. I miss the food my grandma cooked and the donkey rolls my grandpa bought me. They are the people who love me the most in this world. As for my parents, I didn't tell them I was sick, and I don't want to tell them when I die. Let them find out on their own. I want them to wait a long, long time before they find out I'm dead so they can fight over that old, run-down property. The thought of them jumping up and down in regret makes me feel so good. Of course, if they never find out I'm dead until they die, then forget it.

When I die, I don't want to wear those shrouds that look like props from "Uncle Zombie." Go to the top of my closet. There's a bag dedicated to suits. Inside is the best suit I've ever worn. My grandmother spent a fortune buying it for me when I was working. I'll wear that indigo suit so that when a crowd of people walks down to the underworld, my grandmother will be able to recognize me.

I've arranged all these things, but you're the one I'm most worried about. You're worse off than me, you say? My grandparents at least stayed with me until my twenties, but your parents passed away when you were only a teenager. Now you're even worse off, truly alone. I now understand why older people constantly urge their children to get married. Years later, when they pass away, if their children are already married and have children, they'll be like a lonely little wooden stick. With two or three legs, they can support a family, become a small stool, and at least keep themselves stable in the world. Otherwise, they'll be just a frail stick that can break at any moment. How can your loved ones ever rest in peace?

So, Lingling, if, years from now, Yu Chuanbei does turn out well and you forgive him, if you two can still be together, put aside your grudges and be together; if you think Zhong Mingtong is a good person now, put aside your concerns and be with him. Life won't pause just because you hesitate, so you must seize everything and don't waste time, missing out on your best years. As long as you're alive, no matter how old you are, it's still your best years.

What a shame, I can't box with you anymore. We learned this skill to fight bad guys, but I won't need it in the future, and I certainly hope you never have to either.

Life will keep abusing you, and you will keep fighting. By the time you give up, you will be old. But I left this battlefield before I was old enough to give up fighting.

I think, Ling, I passed away peacefully. Although I didn't accomplish anything worthwhile in my life, and didn't see the wider world, I did have fun, and had rich emotional experiences. Although the quality of these experiences was generally not high, I still lived.

So, Ling, don't be too sad for me. You still have your own life. You have carried too much since you were a child. My death is light and airy. Don't let it weigh you down anymore.

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