Chapter 97 Telephone
The ventilation in the pediatric isolation ward is extremely poor; there is always a strong smell of disinfectant in the air whenever you enter the ward.
Today, the smell of disinfectant was mixed with the sour smell of vomit.
When Chen Yun walked in, it was like a warm ray of light shining into the ward.
Li Huguo's haggard face suddenly came into view, completely different from the spirited boss he had been not long ago, with tears still wet on his eyes.
"The puncture results were better than expected."
After Chen Yun finished speaking softly, a faint smile finally appeared on her face.
“Aunt Chen.” Li Shuaishuai turned to look in Chen Yun’s direction. In just two days, his eyes and brows already showed a strong sense of weakness.
"Is your stomach upset?" Chen Yun sat down on the edge of the bed, her gaze sweeping over the trash can under the bed. "After a puncture, you need to eat light, easily digestible food. Why did you make egg fried rice for the child?"
“It’s Shuai Shuai who wanted to…” Li Huguo didn’t finish his sentence, then grabbed his hair in anguish and tugged at it: “It’s all my fault.”
The child couldn't understand what was being said, and the parents didn't listen to the doctor either; the adults were indeed to blame.
"Is Shuai Shuai's grandma coming to keep the child company this afternoon?"
“My mom blamed herself for not taking good care of Shuai Shuai. She cried most of the night last night, and this morning she developed a high fever, so my second uncle took her to the hospital for an IV drip!” Li Huguo scratched his head again, his irritability deepening: “I have to sign a contract this afternoon. I’ll call someone from the company to help keep an eye on things later.”
"I heard from the head of the cardiology department that Tang Hao's condition is relatively mild, and the surgery can be done this year or next year."
“A couple who married later in life.” Li Huguo stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and exhaled with a forced smile: “I feel sorry for my own son, and she also feels sorry for the baby coming out of her belly.”
The doctor considered the two children's illnesses to be of varying degrees of severity and urgency, but in the eyes of the biological mother, of course, her own child was the most important.
Hu Yue'e asked Li Huguo for money and decided to have Tang Hao undergo surgery immediately. She also called Yang Juhua to help take care of the child at the hospital.
As for Li Shuaishuai, she never visited him even once, even though they were both in the same hospital.
Chen Yun couldn't guess what Li Huguo was thinking, but everyone could see how Hu Yue'e would treat Li Shuaishuai in the future.
"Gao Ming and Nianping will be here soon."
After saying that, Chen Yun took off her white coat and sat down by the hospital bed.
"Then I'll go find Director Wu and see how to proceed with the treatment."
Since Li Shuaishuai was admitted to the hospital, Li Huguo could clearly feel that the people around him were particularly cold towards him, and no one would say another word about anything other than Li Shuaishuai's condition.
Li Huguo reached the door but didn't hear Chen Yun reply. He sighed inwardly and continued walking forward.
"Aunt Chen." Li Shuaishuai suddenly reached his hand out from under the covers, and Chen Yun opened her palm and grasped it: "Do you want some water?"
Li Shuaishuai shook his head.
"Aunt Chen, do I have a very serious illness?"
He underwent many tests these past two days. When the long needle pierced his body, he vaguely heard the doctors whispering things like "what a pity."
Li Shuaishuai could tell from the conversation between the adults that the illness must be very serious.
Chen Yun's lips moved as if she was about to speak, but Gao Nianping's voice suddenly exploded in the ward.
"So handsome!"
“Nianping Ge”.
Gao Nianping rushed in like a little animal, placing his schoolbag on the bed as if presenting a treasure: "Shuai Shuai, guess what I brought!"
"Foreign picture cards".
How did you know?!
"I saw it all."
As soon as the zipper of his backpack was pulled open, Li Shuaishuai saw many colorful picture cards.
"Not only did I bring picture cards, but I also brought marbles and chalk. We'll go downstairs and play hopscotch when you get better."
Gao Nianping excitedly showed off the many toys he had brought. He originally wanted to put them all on the hospital bed, but Chen Yun stopped him with a look and instead piled them all on the bedside table.
"Tomorrow's a holiday, I can spend two days with you at the hospital!"
"Really?"
“Look…” Gao Nianping then excitedly pointed to Gao Ming, who had just entered the room: “My dad even brought me a pillow.”
“My illness… may not be curable.” Li Shuaishuai suddenly sighed, his tone full of disappointment.
"..."
Chen Yun's nose tingled with emotion. She pulled Gao Nianping to sit down on the edge of the bed, then sat down in a chair herself. Her voice was calm but heavy: "Shuai Shuai has many bad cells in his bone marrow. He needs injections and medication to kill the bad cells and he'll be cured, but..."
"But what!" Gao Nianping grabbed Chen Yun's arm anxiously, her voice trembling with tears: "If he can't be cured, will he be like Grandpa Li and never wake up again!"
“Of course it can be cured!” Chen Yun immediately retorted, patting her son’s slumped shoulders reassuringly: “When has your mother ever lied to you?”
“Really!” Li Shuaishuai’s eyes lit up and he grabbed Chen Yun’s arm.
“Of course.” Chen Yun touched the head where the hair was all stuck together, and continued in a light tone, “But… the process will be very uncomfortable, possibly even more uncomfortable than you are now.”
"I'm not afraid!"
"I believe in you." Chen Yun waved to the two children: "You may be weak, you may vomit, and you may even lose hair. But as long as you get through it all... those bad cells will definitely be killed."
"I can hold on." Li Shuaishuai sat up excitedly from under the covers, as if afraid that Chen Yun wouldn't believe him, and patted his chest repeatedly to assure her: "I will definitely defeat the bad cells."
"Let's pinky swear." Chen Yun extended her little finger.
With a gentle hook of his two fingers, one big and one small, Li Shuaishuai seemed to have regained his energy after those words, and became lively again.
"Nianping, let's read a book."
“Great! I also brought the second volume of ‘Adventures’, which I borrowed from the video store.”
"Let me disinfect the nurses' station first before you look at it." Gao Ming quickly snatched the storybook that looked dirty, wet a towel and wiped their hands clean: "Your Aunt Chen and I will go wash the towels first, you are not allowed to run around."
"Okay."
The discomfort came and went quickly, and as long as Chen Yun said he could cure it, it was more effective than any magic pill for Li Shuaishuai.
Before the couple left the ward, the two children were already whispering to each other under the covers.
The content seems to be related to school-related matters.
"What did Director Wu say?"
"The situation is better than expected. The white blood cell count has not increased significantly. Director Wu predicts that the prognosis of the treatment should be good." Chen Yun forced a smile.
According to current medical technology, Director Wu said that childhood acute leukemia type L1 has a 70% cure rate and a good prognosis.
But what she was worried about was the remaining 30%.
"I'll write down a few dietary therapy recipes for you to take back and have Mom cook them and bring them to the hospital."
Gao Ming paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and said, "Okay."
"Aunt Fang is sick!" Chen Yun sighed, understanding the reason for Gao Ming's hesitation, and said without any mercy: "Li Huguo... I don't trust him, it's better to rely on us than on him."
"I see."
The washroom was filled with steam; it was unclear which patient's family member was getting hot water to wash clothes.
Chen Yun placed the basin under the tap, intending to get hot water to wash her clothes.
Gao Ming threw the towel and the fleece jacket covered in vomit into the basin and gently pushed Chen Yun away: "I've been busy at the company lately, so I'll try to get to the hospital as soon as I'm done."
"You go about your business, I'll take care of things here!" Chen Yun said with a smile, rolling up his sleeves.
"Ruanqiu's phone is still not being answered?" Gao Ming suddenly asked.
Chen Yun's smile faded considerably, and her expression showed some confusion: "No one answered when I called yesterday, and I can't get through today!"
At the beginning of the year, Ruanqiu would call the Li family every few days, asking in great detail about Li Shuaishuai's academic performance.
But when something actually happened, the landline number Chen Yun had left for Ruanqiu could not be reached.
"If something really happens, we can't rely on anyone!" Gao Ming's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of resentment.
"I'll go borrow Director Wu's phone to make another call."
"No need to look for Director Wu, I have a phone in my pocket."
Chen Yun pulled a palm-sized silver button phone from Gao Ming's black woolen coat pocket; it was considerably larger than his older brother's phone, which was half a meter long with the antenna.
"Just bought it?" Chen Yun held it in her hand, looking at it in surprise.
“A friend who runs a mobile phone business saw that I was still using a landline, so he brought one from Shenzhen so we could join in the fun!”
Even through the steam, you could see Gao Ming's eyes were squinting as he smiled. His hands, covered in foam, were bent up and he gently nudged Chen Yun with his elbow: "You can use it from now on."
“I’m either at the hospital or at home all day, so I don’t need it at all.” Chen Yun fumbled for the raised foreign letters on the phone cover and smiled. “Keep it with you so the kids can call you home for dinner.”
The idea of spending a few cents or a dollar to call someone home for dinner was obviously a joke; Chen Yun was well aware of how expensive these phones, which weren't even in mass production yet, were.
For Chen Yun, a mobile phone costing several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan is almost as useful as a landline, but in Gao Ming's hands, it can occasionally become a "bargaining chip" in business.
Chen Yun doesn't understand business... but even if she hasn't eaten pork, she's at least seen pigs run.
"We'll find another opportunity to buy one, one for each of us."
Chen Yun waved his hand at Gao Ming: "It would be better to buy a washing machine for the house. There are so many people in our family, it's a hassle to wash clothes!" His eyes were fixed on the phone screen where the signal was barely visible.
"I'll find a place with a signal to make a call. After you finish washing up, buy some lunch for the two kids."
"become!"
No matter how expensive a cell phone is, it's no different from a brick in a hospital ward without a signal. Chen Yun tried every window in the corridor and unknowingly walked downstairs.
The call was finally made successfully.
Beep beep—
As the phone connected, a hoarse, indistinguishable male or female voice suddenly rang out from the other end.
"Hello."
Who are you looking for?
The person who answered the phone cleared his throat, and Chen Yun realized that the other person was a man, and probably not young.
"Hello, I'm looking for Ruanqiu."
"..."
After a brief silence on the other end of the line, the man's voice came through again, his words muffled as if he had phlegm in his throat.
Chen Yun felt that this person should be a native of Guangzhou, and even though he tried to pronounce the words, a faint Guangzhou accent could still be heard.
"My daughter-in-law and son have gone out to discuss contracts; they shouldn't be back until this afternoon!"
Chen Yun: "..."
"Who are you? What do you need her for?"
"Daughter-in-law! Ruanqiu is already married?" Chen Yun asked in surprise, then quickly switched the phone to her other hand, as if realizing she had misheard. "Who are you?"
“Ruanqiu is my daughter-in-law. She and my son just got married last month.”
Chen Yun: "..."
"Who are you?! If you don't answer, I'm hanging up..." The other person's tone was clearly impatient.
After a long while, Chen Yun slowly gave her name and asked Ruan Qiu to call her back when she returned.
Ruanqiu got married... and she's newlywed.
There's nothing wrong with getting a second marriage, but it happened at this critical juncture when Li Shuaishuai was sick.
Chen Yun didn't even dare to think about how to tell the news to her child.
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