Chapter 86

A week before National Day, Wu Yuan received a call from Wang Cuixiu.

"Ohara, have you had lunch yet?"

"Just finished class."

"Oh." Wang Cuixiu asked, "How are your studies lately? Is everything okay?"

Wu Yuan frowned, "Mom, what happened at home?"

"Xiao Yuan, can you..." Wang Cuixiu hesitated, "Can you ask your classmate to borrow some money?"

Wu Yuan had just come out of the autopsy room, his cell phone tucked between his ear and shoulder. When he heard that, he paused and asked directly, "How much?"

"Five thousand." Wang Cuixiu immediately said, "If you don't have any, one... one or two thousand will also be fine."

Wang Cuixiu on the other end of the phone was shaking a little as she held the receiver. Her son had not spent a penny of their money since he went to college. He had earned his living expenses and tuition fees from working part-time in the past few years.

They never asked, and didn't know whether it was hard or difficult.

Now that her son is still studying, it is difficult for her to take care of herself. She cannot open her mouth unless she has no other choice.

"I can find a way to get the money." Wu Yuan made way for the students who had passed by and walked to the corner. "Tell me, what's going on at home?"

Wang Cuixiu said softly, "Your father is in the hospital."

Wu Yuan pursed his lips, "What's going on?"

Wang Cuixiu evaded the question, "I'm just...sick."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuan stood by the sink and washed his hands. He used soap and washed them back and forth several times. That afternoon, he asked for leave from his counselor and bought a ticket to go back.

Wu Yuan remained calm while in the car. He didn't expect that as soon as he got home and heard the truth, he would burst into curses.

It turned out that Wu Dongqiang often went to a barber shop in town to play with the woman who cut hair. The day before yesterday, the woman's husband who was working in another place suddenly came back and caught them in bed. In a rage, he beat Wu Dongqiang to death. If the neighbors had not stopped him, he would have beaten him to death.

"Mom sold the shop, but we're still five thousand short." Wang Cuixiu looked at her son, her face haggard. "Xiaoyuan, your dad is still in the hospital. The doctor said he can't have surgery until he has enough money. What do you think we should do?"

Her relatives refused to see her, and when the villagers heard she mentioned the money, they all found excuses to refuse. She could only rely on her only son to make the decision.

Wu Yuan gasped, "Mom, are you crazy? He's messing around with other women, and you still care about him?"

Wang Cuixiu clenched her hands, her eyes bloodshot. "If I don't take care of him, no one will."

A feeling of powerlessness washed over him, and Wu Yuan scoffed, "Look at what he's done all these years. What's the difference between him and a piece of trash?"

"Anyone can talk about him, but you can't." Wang Cuixiu trembled all over. "He's your father!"

With a bang, Wu Yuan slammed the door and walked out.

He wiped his eyes as he walked. Over the years, the man had a bad temper, was addicted to alcohol and gambling, made friends with a bunch of bad people, was idle and accomplished nothing.

Apart from providing sperm, it has no other use.

The whole family was dragged down. He would never understand why his excellent mother had to compromise and endure again and again.

Wu Yuan walked to his alma mater unconsciously. He sat on the stone steps outside the classroom with his head down, in a daze.

More than half an hour later, Lu Shenxing came out with a textbook, kicking his legs as he passed by. Wu Yuan stood up and followed him closely.

"Is your school closing early for National Day holiday?"

"No."

Lu Shenxing tilted his head, "Then why do you look so depressed?"

"My dad's story." Wu Yuan told the story.

Lu Shenxing paused. The original plot did not describe Wu Yuan's parents in detail, only explaining that Wu Yuan's family was poor. At the end, there was a paragraph about Wu Yuan being in a mental hospital, in which an old woman came to see him.

"How much is left for the surgery?"

"I have the money."

Wu Yuan rubbed his toes against the ground, his voice hoarse, "I want you to accompany me."

After calling Wang Cuixiu, Lu Shenxing returned to the dormitory to get his bag and went to the hospital with Wu Yuan.

At the back of the tricycle, Lu Shenxing's hand was held by Wu Yuan, and both of them had dust on their noses.

"You have to be mentally prepared."

Lu Shenxing recalled that visit. Wu Yuan and Wu Dongqiang did not have a close relationship, but for every child, the role of father is tall and respected.

It's just that that respect and love will change little by little as time goes by and they grow up. It may become deeper or it may gradually fade away.

But even if you are disappointed again and again, your father is still an irreplaceable part of your life.

Wu Yuan half-lowered his eyes, "Teacher, do you only want me in this life?" What he could not tolerate the most was betrayal, so he could not understand his mother.

"Yes." Lu Shenxing said, "As long as you."

His promise flowed into the deepest part of Wu Yuan's heart, and with the lock, it was firmly fixed there, taking root.

At the hospital entrance, Wang Cuixiu looked around. She saw Lu Shenxing and Wu Yuan getting off the tricycle and immediately ran over. She said to Lu Shenxing embarrassedly, "Excuse me, Teacher Zhang."

"It's okay." Lu Shenxing said as he walked, "Let's do the surgery first."

Wang Cuixiu's hands rubbed her pants again and again, her vision blurred, "Ah!"

When Wu Yuan paid the money, Wang Cuixiu kept wiping away tears, and Lu Shenxing shook his head and sighed. Some people's lives are full of negative things, but God still treats them well, such as Wu Dongqiang.

My wife is hardworking and virtuous, and my son is strong and independent.

The operation was successful. The doctor said the patient would wake up in about 48 hours, but the spinal nerves were severely damaged and the lower body could not walk normally.

Upon hearing this result, Lu Shenxing's Adam's apple rolled.

Wang Cuixiu's expression was calm, but her voice was trembling slightly. She revealed an expression that was uglier than crying. "That's good. It saves him from running away again."

Wu Yuan suddenly raised his eyes, then turned away, still full of resentment.

"Teacher Zhang, thank you for coming." Wang Cuixiu said, "Xiao Yuan, please see Teacher Zhang off."

Wu Yuan put the orange on the table and turned to leave the ward.

Wang Cuixiu looked at their backs as they left. She looked for a long time, something welled up in her eyes, and then slowly sank back down, as if nothing had happened.

After leaving the hospital, Lu Shenxing suddenly said, "Your mother should have known about us."

Wu Yuan didn't panic at all. He was no longer the young boy he used to be. He said thoughtfully, "I'll take care of it."

"Since she didn't ask directly, it means she has an idea." Lu Shenxing frowned. He also had to explain to Zhang Dafu.

Wu Yuan said, "Then I'll wait for her to bring it up."

He asked abruptly, "Teacher, how old are you?"

Lu Shenxing felt a pain in his temples, "Why are you asking this?"

Wu Yuan ignored his question and asked, "Thirty something?"

Lu Shenxing said calmly, "I'm eighteen."

Wu Yuan, "...stop making trouble."

Back in the dormitory, Lu Shenxing handed him his ID card and said, "Look for yourself. Do you want me to give you a calculator so you can calculate the age difference between us?"

Wu Yuan looked at the ID card and put it in the drawer. "Teacher, I'm just worried about your health."

"Wu Yuan, you are a medical student, so you should understand better than ordinary people that life and death are unpredictable. No one can predict it, let alone stop it." Every word Lu Shenxing said was like a needle piercing Wu Yuan's heart.

After a while, Wu Yuan buried his face in Lu Shenxing's neck and sighed softly, "Teacher...you deliberately want to make me sad..."

Lu Shenxing felt uncomfortable with this irresistible sadness. He patted Wu Yuan's back, feeling it up and down. "Okay, go wash your face."

"Maybe your dad's situation isn't that bad."

Wu Yuan didn't say anything. Although he had never performed an operation before, he had mastered a lot of theoretical knowledge. Moreover, he had entered the operating room with the dean many times and participated in the whole process.

His father's condition showed no improvement and would only get worse. The medical expenses were not a big deal, but the setback of losing his ability to move was too great.

After waking up, Wu Dongqiang was very emotionally unstable. He seemed to have gone mad, smashing everything he could get his hands on, and crying with snot and tears all over his face.

"Get out! Get out of here!"

Several nurses restrained him and forcibly administered a sedative.

Wu Yuan stood aside, and at this moment he truly realized that his father had been around for half his life and had grown old.

Wang Cuixiu said, "You go back and look after the house. Mom can handle it alone."

Wu Yuan turned his back and said, "I'll watch over you at night."

Wang Cuixiu couldn't persuade him. "Bring a blanket. It's cold at night."

Wu Yuan called the school to explain the family situation, and the school approved his request. He accompanied Wang Cuixiu to take care of Wu Dongqiang and look after the dilapidated home.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. The villagers knew about Wu Dongqiang's affair with someone else's wife. When they passed by Wu Yuan's house, they would point and talk about him, expressing sympathy, ridicule, avoidance, disgust, and all kinds of feelings.

Wang Cuixiu wanted to wipe Wu Dongqiang's body and massage his legs and feet. She was close to him and got several cuts on her face. The old ones didn't go away and new ones appeared. His withered face was shocking.

Wu Dongqiang looked like a ghost, pale and hideous. "Why are you all making these fucking dead faces?"

Wu Yuan lowered his head and held Wu Dongqiang down. Wu Dongqiang had grabbed his hearing aid and it hurt a little in his left ear.

"What are you looking at? Are you laughing at me too? Ah!"

Holding the hearing aid tightly, Wu Yuan's chest heaved violently, and blood oozed from his clenched teeth. He swallowed it without saying a word.

Wu Dongqiang often cried at night, his cries even more miserable and heartbreaking than the village cats.

This gray and dark day did not last long, and Wu Dongqiang committed suicide.

Wu Yuan felt that what had happened over the past month was just a dream.

When he woke up from the dream, his father was gone.

As soon as Wu Dongqiang died, all his relatives came to visit. Three or five out of ten words of comfort were words of comfort, and the rest were roundabout reminders of the debts they owed. Everyone has elderly parents and young children to support, and life is not easy.

Wu Yuan took out a notebook and wrote down every sum of money they borrowed. When the coffin was buried, his peace finally shattered.

Lu Shenxing pressed Wu Yuan's head into the crook of his shoulder and said, "Teacher knows, you have done very well."

At the foot of the cramped house, suppressed cries were heard.

For the first time, Wu Yuan experienced how sad and powerless one felt when someone close to them passed away. It was his father who taught him this with his own life.