Chapter 44
Tang Hui and Shen Bining did not stay in the ward for long. Firstly, there were strict regulations on visiting hours, and secondly, Zhou Nianhua was now only a breath away from death, so there was no point in them staying by his side.
When he came out, everyone looked up at Tang Hui. Although he had returned to his usual aloof and indifferent appearance, and his face was still handsome no matter how you looked at him, his reddened eyes immediately gave away his secret.
He cried.
The friends didn't dare to breathe, and no one went up to ask about Zhou Nianhua's situation or offer Tang Hui a few words of comfort.
Tang Hui seemed perfectly normal. He whispered to his friends, "Wait a little longer, I want to say a few words to the attending physician."
Shen Bining immediately replied, "I'll go with you."
Tang Hui nodded, but stopped before leaving. He asked Chen Nian in a hoarse voice, "Could you please come with me? I'm afraid I won't understand. It would be more reassuring to have a doctor by my side."
Although Shen Bining also graduated from medical school, she has been doing end-of-life care for many years and is more inclined towards psychological medicine. In terms of experience in treating patients and clinical practice, she is not as good as Chen Nian, who is a proper doctor.
Chen Nian, of course, wouldn't refuse and immediately followed Tang Hui and Shen Bining to find the attending physician. After they left, Qi Wang and Song Ziyi immediately sidled up to the prison guards, preparing to extract information from them.
These two men, though young, were quite different. One was a shrewd and charismatic business tycoon, the other a successful lawyer who made a fortune through his eloquence. With their mouths working together, they could talk even the dead back to life, let alone a few honest police officers.
Sure enough, Tang Hui hadn't been inside for long when Song Ziyi and Qi Wang had already befriended several prison guards.
Qi Wang and Song Ziyi tried to get information out of Zhou Nianhua by talking to several prison guards. Their main goal was to find out about Zhou Nianhua's life in prison over the years. Their thinking was simple: if Zhou Nianhua never woke up again, Tang Hui would lose his last chance to communicate with his father. If he wanted to know what his father had experienced in prison over the years, he would have nowhere to ask.
They knew Tang Hui's personality; they knew he would never ask the prison guards about his father's life in prison, so they, the two good brothers, would do it for him.
According to the rules, prison guards are not allowed to disclose the lives of prisoners in prison at will, but considering that Zhou Nianhua was about to die, a few prison guards still kindly picked out a few things to tell Song Ziyi and Qi Wang.
*
Tang Hui brought two beautiful female doctors to the attending physician's office and inquired in detail about Zhou Nianhua's condition. After listening, his mood became increasingly heavy.
The attending physician said that Zhou Nianhua's cancer cells had long since spread throughout his body, and it was already a miracle that he had survived until today. He could leave at any time, and no one could give a definite answer as to whether he could regain consciousness once before he died.
After consulting with the doctor, the three returned to the ward. Tang Hui briefly repeated what the doctor had said, and everyone fell silent after hearing it.
After a while, Xie Feng came over and patted Tang Hui on the shoulder, assuring him, "You go back first. I'll stay here in the ward for the next few days. I'll let you know as soon as he wakes up."
Tang Hui left his phone number, thought for a moment, and asked, "Can I come see him every day?"
Xie Feng hesitated for a moment, then said yes.
Zhou Nianhua probably doesn't have many days left to live. Under these circumstances, we can relax the rules a bit, at least let the father and son see each other one last time.
After thanking the prison guards, the group left the doctor.
Upon arriving at the parking lot, Tang Hui said to his friends, "You must be tired after a long day. Go back and rest."
Song Ziyi and Qi Wang were a little worried about Tang Hui and were about to suggest staying with him a little longer when they saw Tang Hui say to Shen Bining, "Shall we talk?"
Shen Bining knew this day would come sooner or later, and readily nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Qi Wang and Song Ziyi quickly drove away with their respective girlfriends, leaving Shen Bining and Tang Hui alone, determined not to be third wheels.
Before leaving, Song Ziyi gave Tang Hui a piece of his mind and whispered, "Contractual relationships can be flexible. If you really like each other, don't let go. I'm rooting for you two."
*
Tang Hui and Shen Bining didn't go anywhere; they just sat in the car and talked.
At first, they both remained silent. They both knew it was time to say goodbye, but neither of them could bring themselves to say it first.
Finally, Tang Hui felt that as a man, he should express his opinion first.
"Lisa has already returned to the United States. Thank you so much for this." Tang Hui felt his mouth was dry and it took him a while to finish a simple sentence.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, that he had reached the point where he couldn't even speak properly, and he was a lawyer, after all.
Shen Bining didn't even look at him, but said politely, "No need to thank me. This is our agreement, and you kept your promise to come and see Zhou Nianhua. Although I'm a step too late, and I don't know if he will be able to wake up and see you again, my mission can be considered complete."
Mission accomplished. It turns out it was all just mission completion.
Tang Hui gave a wry smile and stammered, "Then we..."
“Of course the contract is over.” Shen Bining took a deep breath, trying to appear normal. She even turned to Tang Hui with a bright smile and extended her hand in a handshake gesture. “We’ll still be friends, right?”
Tang Hui paused for a moment, a strange look flashing in his eyes, but he quickly recovered and shook hands with Shen Bining solemnly, saying in a casual tone, "Of course we're still friends. I'll definitely invite you to join us for late-night snacks and drinks in the future."
Shen Bining smiled and said half-jokingly, "With Qi Wang and Chen Nian around, I think we should be able to become friends too."
Tang Hui gave a light "hmm" and quickly changed the subject, asking, "Want to have dinner together? Or should we call them back to join us? You've been keeping me company all day, I should treat you to a big meal."
"Let's do it another day. I want to go home early today." Shen Bining thought for a moment and still refused. She really didn't want to face Chen Nian and the others today, didn't want to be surrounded by them asking "What is your relationship now?", and even less did she want to be forced into a relationship by them without any explanation.
"Okay, I'll take you home first. We can get together properly when everyone's free this weekend." Tang Hui sounded relieved, as if he wanted to be alone today.
He started the car and drove Shen Bining home.
On the way back, the two did not speak, and Shen Bining even turned to look out the passenger window.
The bustling streets, the flowing crowds, the speeding cars... Looking at these familiar scenes, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness and reluctance.
She knew very well that she liked Tang Hui, and guessed that he also had feelings for her. But there were too many problems between them, and it seemed that there was no way to solve them.
So they can't be together. It's better to just let it go; being friends might actually be better than being lovers.
*
The days that followed seemed to return to normal, back to square one.
Shen Bining still went to get off work and came home, spent time with her parents, and went shopping, watched movies, and ate desserts with Chen Nian, Lin Ruoruo, and Mu Ci, just like any other single girl. It seemed as if her "relationship" with Tang Hui was just everyone's illusion.
Tang Hui was much busier, because besides work, he visited Zhou Nianhua in the hospital almost every day.
Unfortunately, Zhou Nianhua has not yet woken up, but fortunately, her condition has been temporarily brought under control and has not continued to deteriorate. The doctor said she can hold on for another ten days to half a month.
As for whether he will wake up once before he dies, the doctor still says the same thing—nobody can say for sure.
As if by prior arrangement, Tang Hui and Shen Bining never contacted each other again. They also tacitly avoided group gatherings where they might meet. Every time Chen Nian and the others invited them to dinner, either Tang Hui couldn't come, or Shen Bining was unavailable, as if it had been pre-arranged. But in reality, it was just a coincidence.
In the end, everyone couldn't help but sigh that the two had such great chemistry that it would be a shame if they weren't a couple.
Shen Bining seemed unaffected, but Chen Nian, being as observant as she was, noticed her friend's forced smile and finally snapped one day.
During her lunch break that day, she pushed open the door to Shen Bining's office, walked a few steps to the desk, crossed her arms, and looked down at Shen Bining, saying, "Is this funny between you two? You're both adults, can you not be so childish about relationships? If you like someone, just like them, why do you have to torture each other to make it interesting?"
Shen Bining was a little confused when Chen Nian walked in. It was the first time she had seen her gentle and good-tempered best friend act like a big sister. It wasn't until she heard Chen Nian's lecture that she realized that the other party had come to "question her".
"Niannian, stop making a fuss. Tang Hui and I are just in a contractual relationship. We agreed on that back then," Shen Bining said in a low voice, her expression and tone filled with indescribable loneliness.
Obviously, this explanation won't fool Chen Nian, nor will it fool Chen Nian herself.
She minded that her relationship with Tang Hui was just a "contractual relationship".
Chen Nian's personality meant that she couldn't keep up the act of being the boss for more than three seconds before she was exposed. Sure enough, as soon as Shen Bining showed a hint of sadness, Chen Nian felt extremely sorry for her.
She walked over to Shen Bining, took her friend's hand, and tried to persuade her again: "I can see that you like him, and he likes you too. But why..."
She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, and Chen Nian realized why.
She was getting anxious, and her words became incoherent. "Ningning, didn't we agree when we were at your house that we would let go of the past and start over? You promised me you would try to move on. I read that letter, and I remember what it said. That boy also told you to forget him and find someone worthy of your love to experience properly. Have you forgotten?"
As Chen Nian spoke, Shen Bining thought of someone again, and two lines of clear tears slowly slid down her cheeks.
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