Chapter 49

It can be seen that Teng Zheng did not lie. After finding him from the welfare home, his parents really loved him as he said, and even provided him with a high-end single room.

I filled in the information downstairs in the inpatient area, went straight to the top floor according to the address he gave, and finally saw him next to the door of the target room.

Even though we were several meters apart, I could tell at a glance that he had indeed lost weight. This was the most intuitive first impression he gave me.

I have no idea how much time has passed since the accident. Wen Liangxi didn't tell me, and I didn't have the courage to ask. I thought Teng Zheng was still bedridden, but he was already standing, leaning on a cane like an old man with hemiplegia. His face was the color of a frost-bitten eggplant—not to say it was rosy, but it was still unsightly. His eyelids were half-drooped, and he seemed sleepy but unable to sleep, completely dejected.

This situation seems much worse than being bedridden.

I approached him with light steps, but he could still hear the long, harsh sound of the plastic bags in my hands rubbing against each other.

Teng Zheng suddenly became as motivated as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

"My dear," he said, frowning and smiling, his face showing a bit more blood than before, "I've been waiting for you here for half an hour, why did you just come?"

Even if he acted a little more vulnerable and said a little more pitiful words, I could give him all my kindness. But the tone of his voice and his nonchalant look made me feel that he was exactly the same as when he was not injured. The pity in my heart immediately disappeared, and I almost said with a cold face: Traffic jam.

"Thank you so much," he said, his eyes shifting to the last-minute purchase I was holding in my hand. "You insisted on coming to see me despite being stuck in traffic, and even bought me something delicious."

After saying that, he turned into a curious snail, slowly walking towards me on crutches and asking: "What did you buy me? If you have a salary, please don't buy me any more trivial things."

If nothing unexpected happens, he will be disappointed. I don't understand the ways of the world. It was Li Ying'an who reminded me of these things in front of the hospital that I went to a nearby store to pick them out.

I didn't buy any fruit for Teng Zheng, thinking that someone would buy him things like fruit, milk, and eggs. After all, he has so many brothers around him, and at the very least his parents can't do without him. So I walked into the snack area and filled a big bag with snacks for him. Before leaving, I also took two bags of Benbengou rice crackers.

I still remember Teng Zheng telling me that he really liked to eat this.

"No, brother, I'm in the hospital. Can you buy me some nutritious food?"

Teng Zheng scratched his face red from scratching. He whimpered at me with a stern face, not forgetting to glance at what I was holding in my other hand. It would have been fine if he hadn't looked. But when he did, I howled again, saying I didn't treat him as a human being. "What do you mean? Are you here to see a patient or to insult me? Are you calling me stupid?"

I didn't quite understand his train of thought. I just bought it for him because he liked it, but he didn't appreciate it. So I didn't agree with him and stood in the corridor confronting him: You are a stupid dog. You go out without hesitation when someone asks you out. The brain on your neck is only good at remembering things but not thinking, right?

As if what I said was right, Teng Zheng's face turned as red as the wild monkey in the forest, and he held his breath and didn't say a word.

After I finished my mouth, I realized that what I had just said was inappropriate to a patient, especially one who was injured because of me. So, like him, I lowered my brows and thought for a while, my eyes rolling around, and finally, I carefully grabbed the sleeve of Teng Zheng's hospital gown: I'm sorry...

Teng Zheng looked at me aggrievedly, and finally, unable to hold back his worries, he smiled happily: "What the hell are you doing..."

Teng Zheng's anger when I said that was fake, and his expression of grievance was also fake. But I was really being stubborn, and it was also true that I was afraid that my words would hurt him and decided to please him.

"You're making it seem like I'm bullying you, when it's clearly your roc-winged gesture that's humiliating me."

He led me like a limp man, bringing me to the ward that belonged to him alone. "Be my laborer. Just carry the things in and put them in the cabinet down there."

He gave instructions as he slowly moved onto the bed, and finally he lay down on the bed, sighed comfortably, and closed his eyes again.

While he was taking a nap, I looked around the ward and found that the treatment in the premium ward was better than that in the ordinary ward.

Although I haven't been to a regular ward, I've seen pigs run even though I've eaten pork. At least a regular ward wouldn't let just one person live in such a large room, and there would even be green plants inside.

I walked over to the accompanying chair beside the bed and sat down, my eyes sweeping across his peaceful face and the back of his empty hand.

I leaned over and tugged at the quilt on the bed. When he opened one eye and looked at me, I gestured: Why haven't you had the injection yet?

I have the impression that people who are hospitalized would get an IV drip in the morning.

"It's not just to see you, I specifically asked the nurse to put it on the IV tonight."

Teng Zheng narrowed one eye, raised his lips in a smile, and made some inexplicable harassing gestures towards me. "Besides, it's just some glucose or something. It doesn't really matter whether you get it or not, but since you're hospitalized, the hospital still relies on it to make money."

I stared at the retention needle on Teng Zheng's arm and looked at his cheek which was not as plump as before but thinner. For a moment, I felt bad: Are you in so much pain that you can't eat?

Teng Zheng smiled and asked, "Why do you think so?"

I didn't beat around the bush and said it directly: You have lost weight.

"Really? I thought I could get fat..."

He reached out and patted his right cheek. Perhaps he used too much force and affected the wound on his body that had not yet healed. The momentary frown and gasp of cold air were clearly in front of my eyes.

I was silenced again by his action.

"Ouch," Teng Zheng said in a long voice, not knowing whether it was from pain or just a sigh of emotion, "Brother, can you please stop being so deadpan? I never said I blame you."

But I still feel bad: it’s all because of me.

I know that Teng Zheng and I are not thinking the same thing. He is still stuck on the time when he and I went to look for the cat. My guilt comes from the fact that I suggested that the police search the factory first. This led to the factory owner's mentality of dragging others into the water when he was at his wit's end, causing Teng Zheng to be implicated in this unprovoked disaster.

I didn't answer Teng Zheng's words and just sat there blankly.

Teng Zheng told me that people who are too happy will die suddenly, so life needs some small hardships from time to time.

"I have to thank you. My life has been so smooth sailing lately that I'm worried about what bad luck might happen to me in the future. Look," he lifted his hospital gown to show off his injuries, "with injuries of this severity, I think I can enjoy a few years of worry-free happiness. I don't have to worry about any little accidents anymore. I have to thank you."

He was obviously the one lying in the hospital injured, but he pretended to be fine and comforted me. I looked at his sincere smile from the heart and suddenly wanted to come and stay with him for a few days.

My proposal was rejected by Teng Zheng. The reason he gave me was simple and crude. It was because I was a mute and couldn't speak, and I had to use my mobile phone to convert every time I spoke. And starting tomorrow, his mother would have to confiscate his mobile phone. It was because he didn't take care of his health during the recovery period, didn't sleep late at night, and played games in the ward with his mobile phone again and again. The nurse reminded him several times but was ignored. Finally, the junior nurse reported to the head nurse, and the head nurse told the family, and he was deprived of the right to play with his mobile phone.

After thinking about it, I couldn't find any suitable words to comfort her, so I could only shut up. However, I still laughed at her and said she deserved it in my heart.

I looked around the empty ward again. Apart from Teng Zheng and me, and the occasional nurse coming in and out, I didn't see anyone else.

I rubbed my hungry stomach and hesitated for a long time before grabbing an apple on Teng Zheng's table and started to chew it in front of him. When I met his gaze, I didn't feel shy at all and gestured: Where is your bedmate?

"I just got off the night shift and haven't eaten yet. Are you hungry?"

Teng Zheng immediately dialed a number and the first thing he said was, "Mom, could you please make another copy of the meal you bought for me? My friend came to see me without having eaten, so I'll treat him... No need to bother, he won't mind. Love you, thank you for your hard work."

I slowed down my chewing, and looked at him with my face wrinkled like a piece of white paper. I couldn't bear to watch his last move. I didn't expect him to be so straightforward and open.

Putting down his phone, Teng Zheng grabbed an orange and peeled it while saying, "My dad is busy with work, so my mom stays with me. Occasionally, my sister comes to take my mom's place on weekends."

I nodded in understanding, thinking that the brother and sister had a good relationship.

"Oh right," Teng Zheng chewed a few times and then swallowed the half orange slice he had stuffed into his mouth. "My sister said there's a pervert here. She saw someone torturing a cat a few days ago."

The apple I was holding up suddenly stopped at my lips. I couldn't understand it for a moment. I just thought that this must be a very surprising news.

As the words in this sentence slowly came together and hit my brain, I suddenly thought of another thing. That was that evening, I met Deng Yu and her youngest son near the hospital. His youngest son Sui Jiangbao said that Sui Yusheng abused the cat, and his expression did not seem to be lying.

I had no intention of doubting Sui Yusheng, but the thought unconsciously overlapped with what Teng Zheng had said to me, and this terrifying association drained the color from my face. In this perfectly air-conditioned ward, a cold snake coiled around my spine, and cold sweat instantly soaked my back.

I pretended to be calm and gritted my teeth. After a chill like the ripples shaking in a cup drifted away, I inquired in detail: Where did your sister see the cat abusers nearby? Was it a gang crime?

Teng Zheng shook his head. "It wasn't a gang. Remember the high-speed rail station exit? There's a crowded snack street there—I don't know if you've ever been there. There are a lot of homeless people there. My sister went to that snack street with her classmates the other day and saw a homeless man torturing a cat in the corner."

Hearing this, I suddenly felt a little relieved.

Many homeless people in today's society are mentally unstable. Accidental injuries to others are common, and abuse of cats and dogs is not uncommon. But when I think of how they openly abuse lives in such a place, I can't help but feel furious. This is like a bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. I don't even want to pity any homeless people anymore.

Teng Zheng had said earlier that his sister particularly liked these small animals. After all, she was the only one who saw it, and the public knew nothing about things happening in such hidden corners, and the police would not mobilize a large number of people for this. So she suggested that Teng Zheng talk to his friends in the rescue room about this matter to ensure the safety of the small animals.

Not long ago, Teng Zheng told Wen Liangxi about this matter via mobile phone, and the other party said that he would let Sui Yusheng go and take a look.

Now things are being handled well. At least when Teng Zheng's sister went to the snack street with her friends again, she no longer saw any animal abuse, only the shrewd looks of the homeless people.

That being the case, my heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally relaxed and fell to the ground.

I had this morning meal in the hospital. Teng Zheng's mother is a warm-hearted person. No wonder they say sons resemble their mothers. Teng Zheng's personality is mostly inherited from her. From the moment I met her, she asked me all kinds of questions. Even though I am a mute, she did not treat me as a mute. Instead, after learning that Teng Zheng had a software on his phone that could translate my sign language, she chatted with me crazily.

Several hours passed during the visit and the long chat.

Thinking that Li Ying'an might still be anxiously waiting for me to go back for dinner at home, it was already ten o'clock. Soon I would have to recharge my energy to continue working the night shift in the afternoon. It was not appropriate for me to stay any longer. I explained the situation to the mother and son. Teng Zheng's mother enthusiastically sent me downstairs and asked me to visit their home often in the future. After seeing that I agreed, she waved goodbye and let me leave.

When I returned to the downstairs of my community, I looked up and saw a familiar figure standing not far away. It was Li Ying'an himself.

Besides him, I also saw Li Lan, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.