Chapter 3-4
4
The day after the gastric tube was removed, Qiao Wei's pathology report came out.
“It’s a gastric schwannoma.” Lou Xufeng adjusted his glasses and glanced at the report again.
Qiao Wei leaned against the hospital bed, expressionless as he watched Lou Xufeng and the three or four young doctors following behind him. Xu Mingyu also stared at Lou Xufeng, nervously wringing her hands, looking like she wanted to interrupt but dared not. Qiao Ruo and Qiao Min, on the other hand, remained calm, exchanging glances and quietly waiting for him to continue.
Lou Xufeng raised the corners of his mouth and smiled, "Beneficial."
Xu Mingyu slapped her thigh happily and turned to Qiao Wei, saying, "Old Qiao, I told you you'd be alright."
Qiao Ruo and Qiao Min exchanged another glance and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
"This tumor, as the name suggests, is a lesion of the gastric nerve sheath cells," Lou Xufeng said succinctly. "In most cases, it is benign and can be removed."
Qiao Ruo said gratefully, "Director Lou, thank you for your trouble."
Qiao Ruo glanced at Qiao Min and noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears, but she didn't let the tears fall. She quickly said, "Yes, Director Lou, thanks to you, the surgery was able to be done so well."
“It’s nothing, it’s all what I should do. But… we found out he has hyperthyroidism.”
The group exchanged bewildered glances, still trying to process the sudden turn of events. Qiao Ruo was the first to understand: "Hyperthyroidism, right? No wonder he suddenly lost so much weight."
"Yes, this disease requires medication, and you also need to pay attention to your diet. If it's well controlled, there shouldn't be any problems. When he's discharged from the hospital, he can see Dr. Yang Shuang in the endocrinology department. Dr. Yang will give him more professional treatment advice."
Qiao Ruo nodded: "Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome. If you have any questions, you can come to my office next to the stairs. I've been here all morning."
After Lou Xufeng finished speaking, he led the doctors behind him out. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Qiao Ruo and Qiao Min.
Qiao Ruo thought he had more to say, so she quickly put down the thermos and the half-empty glass of water and hurried to meet him: "Director Lou, is it my father's illness..."
“No,” Lou Xufeng laughed, shaking his head to interrupt her, “Take good care of your father.”
After Lou Xufeng left, Xu Mingyu grabbed Qiao Ruo's hand and said, "What was wrong with Director Lou just now? I felt he was acting a bit strange, like he knew you."
Qiao Ruo didn't know how to answer. At this moment, Qiao Wei, who had completely relaxed, spoke up: "He is the uncle of one of Qiao Ruo's classmates. Qiao Ruo, did you tell your classmate about my illness and ask your classmate to speak to Director Lou? I feel that Director Lou took good care of me. The day I went into the operating room, before the anesthesia was administered, he saw that I was nervous and kept chatting with me to try to make me relax. He was much more enthusiastic than the day he looked at my test results in the office."
Qiao Ruo was startled. She received Xu Mingyu's surprised gaze and Qiao Min's thoughtful look. She had to suppress her unease and said, "I didn't tell my classmate. I'm not familiar with him. It's normal for Director Lou, as your surgeon, to comfort you about such an important event as surgery."
Qiao Wei casually gave an "oh," and Xu Mingyu and Qiao Min didn't ask her anything after hearing her words. She couldn't help but silently breathe a sigh of relief.
Xu Mingyu turned to look at Qiao Wei and sighed, "Tell me, why did he suddenly get hyperthyroidism?"
Qiao Ruo comforted her, "It's alright. As Director Lou just said, it can be controlled with medication and diet. I've seen several people with hyperthyroidism, and they're all doing quite well, no different from normal people. Don't worry, we'll go see that Dr. Yang he mentioned in a couple of days."
Qiao Min stood at the foot of the bed and comforted her, "Yes, Mom, we should be happy that you don't have cancer. These days, everyone gets sick to some extent. As long as it's not a terminal illness, it's nothing serious."
Qiao Min has been coming to the hospital every day to help take care of her these past few days. Although Qiao Wei doesn't talk to her much, he hasn't given her a hard time anymore. The father and daughter have officially reconciled.
Qiao Wei nodded: "Don't worry, I know my own body, I'll be fine."
He looked at Qiao Ruo first and said, "I'm fine. You should go back to work as soon as possible. If you take too long off, your boss will have a problem with it."
He looked at Qiao Min again: "You don't need to come over every day. Taking good care of Xin Xin is the most important thing."
Qiao Min smiled: "Dad, Xin Xin has to go to school during the day, and I don't have much to do at home, so of course I have to come over. Mom can't handle it all by herself."
Qiao Ruo was a little unsure how to answer. In the end, quitting a job is not a terrible crime, but people of her parents' generation value job stability and often do not understand or support their children's decision to resign.
"Let's talk about it after you're discharged from the hospital. My work isn't urgent."
Xu Mingyu rolled her eyes at Qiao Wei: "Qiao Qiao already said she took leave, but you insisted on urging her to go back to work. These past few days you've been in the hospital, and she's been running around taking care of you, exhausted and hasn't had a proper rest. Going back to work like this is bad for her health, isn't it? When you're discharged and come home, I'll have to find a way to help her recover. You should focus on getting better; your daughters are all grown up now, so don't worry about their affairs."
Qiao Wei glared at them: "I'm their father. If I don't take care of them, who will?"
“Yes, yes, yes,” Xu Mingyu retorted, “You’re their father, I’m not their mother, I don’t care about them, I’m not as responsible as you, okay?”
Qiao Wei opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but Xu Mingyu softened her tone first: "You're a patient now, so please don't get angry. Once you're fully recovered, you can say whatever you want, even if it breaks the sky."
Qiao Wei hadn't eaten for several days and was indeed very weak. He could only manage a few words before he became too weak to continue, so he simply closed his eyes and ignored his wife.
Qiao Ruo was amused by her parents' bickering. When she turned her head, she saw Qiao Min looking at her with an unreadable expression in her eyes.
Qiao Ruo inexplicably felt like she had been seen through. Pretending not to notice Qiao Min's gaze on her face, she said goodbye to her parents and left the ward.
No sooner had she stepped out of the ward than Qiao Min followed her up: "Qiao Qiao, let's go downstairs, I have something to tell you."
She really didn't want to talk to anyone, but Qiao Min was very stubborn. She simply stopped talking and stared at her. She couldn't withstand this sharp scrutiny and had no choice but to compromise and follow Qiao Min downstairs.
“If you still want to talk to me about He Yajun, then I have to tell you the truth: I don’t want to talk about it, nor do I think it’s necessary to talk about it.”
Qiao Min remained silent, and Qiao Ruo, unsure of her intentions, could only remain silent as well.
As they walked out of the inpatient department, Qiao Min said with absolute certainty, "You resigned, didn't you?"
Qiao Ruo was stunned. She opened her mouth, but this time Qiao Min didn't look at her and continued, "Don't worry, you don't need to hide it from me. You can make your own decisions about your job. I won't comment or tell Mom and Dad. But I need to know if you resigned to go to America to find He Yajun?"
"...No." For some reason, even though she was telling the truth, she felt a little guilty.
Qiao Min frowned, clearly skeptical of her answer: "Even now, you're still unwilling to tell me the truth?"
Qiao Ruo finally calmed down: "It's not because of him. I'm just very tired from work and want to resign and take a break for a while."
Qiao Min stopped dwelling on her resignation and changed the subject: "Since you've already resigned, why don't you reconsider my previous suggestion and go to the United States to pursue a master's degree?"
"I told you, I don't want to talk about this anymore."
They had already reached the bench, but Qiao Min didn't sit down: "Qiao Qiao, you've resigned, and it just so happens to be at this time, so take this opportunity to prepare for studying abroad. Even if it doesn't lead to a future with He Yajun, it will still benefit your future career development."
“I understand that you did this to help me,” Qiao Ruo said earnestly, knowing why Qiao Min was so insistent. She could only adopt a conciliatory attitude. “I don’t blame you anymore, really. It’s all in the past. Let’s put aside the unpleasantness of the past and live our lives well.”
Qiao Min unexpectedly grasped Qiao Ruo's hand: "Since you have already forgiven me, you shouldn't treat me like a stranger. We are sisters. It is within my ability for me to pay for your studies abroad. Just accept it and don't feel any guilt."
Qiao Ruo tried to break free, but Qiao Min held on tightly, and she couldn't. She had no choice but to give up.
“I initially taught you to do this because I wanted to make amends and give you more opportunities to get closer to He Yajun. But now, it's not just about that anymore. Last night when you went home to take a shower, Mom told me that when you were in your senior year of high school, she accidentally saw your diary and found out that you had considered studying in the United States. She said she felt very sorry for you because we didn't have the money to fulfill your wish, and she could only pretend she knew nothing. You're so sensible, you've never mentioned it to her.”
Qiao Ruo froze, immediately remembering how helpless she felt after learning He Yajun was going to study in the United States. With no one to confide in, she decided to write in a diary. But after buying the notebook, she only wrote the first entry before seeing He Yajun's name on the page. She felt deflated, realizing how ridiculous her actions were, and immediately tore it up. After a moment's hesitation, she picked up her pen again, leaving only one sentence in the notebook: "I can't afford to go to America, I can't afford to study abroad. Stop dreaming, accept reality, and live the life I'm meant to live." Then she placed the notebook at the bottom of the drawer. In just half an hour, the notebook had fulfilled its purpose.
She eventually threw away the notebook and forgot about it. She never imagined that her mother would see it and remember it with a sense of guilt.
She thought about how hurt and remorseful her mother must have felt at that time.
“Mom also mentioned to Dad your idea of studying abroad, and Dad was saddened when he found out. They even went out to inquire about the cost of studying in the United States, but that amount was simply beyond their means,” Qiao Min noticed the change in Qiao Ruo's emotions and softened her voice. “She told me that if you ever bring this up with me in the future, or if you come to me for help because of this, I must help you out of sisterly affection. She has never asked me for anything financially, but she brought this up. I can tell that this is a knot in her heart. So, whether it's for your relationship with He Yajun or to resolve Mom's knot in her heart, I suggest you start preparing for studying abroad immediately and try to go abroad as soon as possible.”
Qiao Ruo took a deep breath, but tears still welled up in her eyes. She didn't know what to say, nor did she want to explain why she had written that sentence in her diary back then, and besides, there was nothing to explain anymore.
Qiao Min wiped away a bit of moisture from Qiao Ruo's eyes with her finger: "Qiao Qiao, worrying too much, caring about this and that, will cause you to lose a lot of happiness that should belong to you. Because of me, you gave up your feelings, and for your parents' sake, you decided to accept your fate. You've compromised enough; you don't need to restrain your thoughts anymore. Now that Dad is willing to talk to me, I will definitely spend more time with them in the future. With me by their side, you can just confidently do what you want to do and live the life you want to live. Think about it again."
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