27 A sudden chase game
Don't feel sorry for me, really.
After the diagnosis, I was devastated. I couldn't understand why fate had treated me so unfairly. I cried, complained, and cursed day and night, even experiencing suicidal thoughts. The thought that I would soon be unable to even lift my arms, that I would be stripped of even the right to commit suicide, was agonizing. So, I actually did it—I hid in the bathroom and cut my wrists with an eyebrow razor. To make the blood flow faster, I cut both wrists!
After reading this, Ni Yue took a deep breath, turned around, and his eyes fell on the naturally hanging wrist of the running ball sister.
Stretch out your hands and carefully turn your wrists over.
Sure enough, there was a prominent raised pink scar on the inside of each wrist.
When I gently rubbed it with my fingertips, it felt like touching an irregularly shaped piece of plastic eraser, blunt and hard.
She got goose bumps.
When I woke up in the emergency room, I saw my parents and B Wang beside me. Their eyes were bloodshot, B Wang's face was covered in stubble, and my parents' hair had turned a lot whiter. At that moment, I suddenly realized how selfish I had been, focusing solely on my own sadness and completely ignoring the feelings of my loved ones. So, from that day on, I decided to live well, eat well, sleep well, and write books... If my fingers didn't work, I would use voice recognition; if my tongue got tied, I would use my eyes; if my eyes got tired, I would type the draft word by word into my head... I worked hard to live my life and not bring sadness to anyone who loved me.
I haven't cried since then. If we had met when I first became ill, I would definitely have cried with you. But now, I just want to say to you, sister, don't be sad for me. My body is trapped in a cage, but my soul has become freer. It has broken through all the previous boundaries and reached a reconciliation with illness, death, and all the big and small injustices in life.
Ni Yue's eyes became moist again.
Aside from my family, my biggest concern right now is the book I'm writing. If it weren't for updating, I'd probably stay in bed all day. But now, I open my eyes at 7 a.m. every morning, my mind full of my protagonists. I'm happy for them, sad for them, overwhelmed by their pain, and I share their thoughts and feelings. At this late stage in life, I'm still able to experience the joy of immersive creation. Isn't this a blessing?
His sight slowly moved upwards in a blur, landing on the row of books in the middle of the bookshelf. After a long silence, Ni Yue turned to look at Sister Paoqiu and said with a choked voice, "You might as well be bolder. I've checked before and found that some ALS patients can live with the disease for more than ten or twenty years. If they can, so can you. Don't assume too early that you will leave this world soon!"
You are right, I am ready to die, but I have not given up hope of living, even if this hope is very weak, like the flame produced by lighting a match in the snow on a winter night, which may go out at any time, I will not give up.
I want to be as strong as the heroines I write about.
In the afternoon, there was an order from the thoughtful Lao Deng. As usual, Ni Yue helped him wash his hair, but because of her great emotional fluctuations in the morning, she was in a very bad state and hardly said a word.
What's strange is that the thoughtful and caring Lao Deng, who always talks a lot during bathing, also acted out of character. He had a sullen face, half-closed his eyes and didn't say a word the whole time.
Zhang Chenling once thought he was asleep and gently called him "Mr. Wang" a few times, but was met with a cold and sharp glance.
It seems that he also has something on his mind?
Perhaps it was the recent economic downturn and the sluggish stock market, resulting in a multi-million dollar loss on his books within half a day? Or perhaps he accidentally discovered that his house's value had dropped by tens of millions? Or, even more dramatic, an illegitimate child suddenly appeared to seize his property, and his two sons in the United States also joined the fray?
The happiness and troubles of rich people are far beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and can only be glimpsed from melodramatic movies and TV dramas.
Zhang Chenling suppressed her curiosity and looked up at Xu Zhiqian who was sitting opposite her, intentionally or unintentionally, only to find that he was staring at her.
The moment their eyes met, they both chose to take a detour.
“Clatter… clatter…”
The sound of water, mixed with the rustling of the bath towel rubbing against skin, caused a lingering echo in the empty bathroom, each sound pounding the eardrums and making people's scalps numb.
She suddenly felt that it was a bit creepy to live alone in such a big house.
"What's wrong with Mr. Wang today? Why doesn't he say a word?" Before leaving, she secretly asked the housekeeper Zhong Shu.
The shrewd old man looked around and muttered under his hand, "He had a quarrel with his two sons during the meeting this morning."
"Meeting?"
"Family meeting!"
"Oh, okay."
Zhang Chenling didn't ask any further questions. She said goodbye to Uncle Zhong and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Zhong added in a low voice behind her: "They are discussing sending Mr. Wang to a nursing home."
"Ah, why?" She turned around and found that Uncle Zhong's eyes were red.
"They said they were worried about him living alone."
"Aren't you and the nanny here?"
"The nanny has resigned. Today is her last day. She will leave tomorrow morning!" Uncle Zhong said with a bitter face.
Zhang Chenling looked incredulous, "How long has it been going on?"
"Hey, she cried to me all day yesterday, saying that Mr. Wang always stared at her while she was working, making her feel uncomfortable. He also constantly criticized her for being dirty and calling her crazy... She said that the people she used to take care of were all rich celebrities and wealthy people, and few of them had such a bad temper, such a nagging mouth, and such harsh demands as Mr. Wang!"
Zhang Chenling pulled the corner of her mouth helplessly, "Mr. Wang talks a lot, but he's not a bad person."
"Hey, you don't know, actually Mr. Wang's attitude towards you and me is quite good. He scolds his two sons even more harshly, not to mention outsiders."
"Oh, I can imagine."
"...The eldest son complained that he'd worked so hard to find several nannies, but they'd all run away after being scolded. Now he can't find a suitable one at all. The old man's old age and legs aren't working well, so it's better for him to live in a nursing home. There, there's someone to take care of him, and he can also experience community life, playing chess and singing karaoke with his peers, and improving his increasingly withdrawn personality... Pah, that's a nice thing to say!" Uncle Zhong spat, rarely revealing his likes and dislikes. "This family is estranged. The son isn't close to his father, and the two sons aren't close to each other. If they could just bring the children back home more often and let Mr. Wang enjoy some family warmth, his personality wouldn't become withdrawn."
Zhang Chenling shrugged, looking helpless.
"...The boss said he's already contacted the most high-end nursing home in Shanghai. They have the most expensive single room there, with top-notch hardware and software facilities, and the most luxurious five-star hotel catering service. He's just waiting for Mr. Wang's approval."
The three of them got on a van and drove from the western suburbs to Wutong District.
As soon as his butt touched the seat, Ni Yue thought of the running ball sister again, and his eyes and nose tip turned red again unconsciously.
Zhang Chenling frowned, thinking about what Uncle Zhong had just said.
Suddenly, she was shocked - when did she start to worry about her clients' private affairs?
Whether actively or passively, is it really necessary to know too much about a client's private affairs?
Doesn’t this violate the most important code of conduct in the service industry, which is written in black and white in the Shangshanruoshui Bathing Manual - [Respect customer privacy]?
Furthermore, the more you know about your customers, the more likely you are to develop unnecessary emotional connections, leading to preferential service and uneven service times. This doesn't seem fair to customers...
"Let's try to avoid interfering in our customers' private affairs in the future!"
After a long silence, Zhang Chenling spoke out what was in her heart.
Xu Zhiqian nodded at the rearview mirror, and realizing that Zhang Chenling wasn't even looking at him, he coughed and said, "I also think we should draw a clear line between ourselves and our clients, just like working in a company. No matter what position we are in, we shouldn't have close personal relationships with our clients. However,"
He paused, thinking of his mentor, Professor Xu, and his heart softened. "Sometimes it's okay to chat with clients for a few more minutes, just don't get too deep into it."
"Deep or shallow, what standard should be used to measure it?" Zhang Chenling asked humbly.
"Hmm, let me think about it!" Xu Zhiqian pretended to think.
...The bland conversation between the two teammates went straight in Ni Yue's left ear and out of his right ear.
Her mind was full of running ball sister.
Sister Paoqiu's face, Sister Paoqiu's eyes, every Chinese character that Sister Paoqiu typed on the computer screen with her eyes... everything related to Sister Paoqiu weighed heavily on her chest.
It was like the suffocating heat before a super typhoon, making it hard for her to breathe.
The car stopped at the intersection waiting for the red light. She looked out the window and saw men and women walking on the roadside. She couldn't help but sigh, how great it would be if Sister Running Ball was one of them...
My gaze zoomed in and landed on a few delivery guys sitting across the lane. One of them had a cigarette between his fingers, and from time to time he would raise his hand from the handlebars of his motorcycle to take a puff.
His profile looks very much like someone.
etc!
Ni Yue looked closely and found that he was that person!
The red light turned green and the motorcycle team rushed out first.
"Xu Zhiqian, follow him!"
Ni Yue shouted so loudly that his two teammates trembled.
"With whom?" Xu Zhiqian was confused.
Ni Yue stretched his arm to the driver's seat and pointed straight ahead, "That delivery guy in yellow, follow him!"
"No, why are you following a delivery boy?" Zhang Chenling also looked puzzled and reached out to grab her arm.
"Who is he?" Ni Yue was so excited that his tongue got tied.
"Who is it?" the two teammates asked in unison.
"Uncle Qian's son! Oh, he's getting further and further away!" Ni Yue anxiously knocked on Xu Zhiqian's backrest from behind, "Xu Zhiqian, hurry up and give it some gas! How can a grown man be so weak?"
Xu Zhiqian's face flushed red, and he stepped down unconsciously, even though he had no idea who the Uncle Qian Ni Yue was talking about was.
Zhang Chenling's body was pulled by inertia and fell backward heavily. She couldn't help but scold: "Xu Zhiqian, why are you fooling around with Ni Yue?"
Xu Zhiqian kept muttering, but instead of slowing down, he stepped on the accelerator harder and harder.
The sudden acceleration made his adrenaline surge, and his damn desire to win made him throw rationality behind his mind, and he took the initiative to join the chase game.
Ni Yue stared intently at the delivery boy and said to Zhang Chenling confidently, "Let's catch up and ask how Uncle Qian is doing and when he'll be able to help him with his bath next time. It's been over a month since we last treated his bedsores, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to follow up, right?"
"Do you think now's a good time to follow up? Wouldn't it be better if we could just call and follow up later?"
"He's already blacklisted you, how could he possibly answer the phone!"
Ni Yue was right. On the day the quarrel broke out among the few people, Uncle Qian’s son blocked Zhang Chenling.
"We asked the neighborhood committee and it was the same thing! In any case, chasing cars on the main road is against traffic regulations. Xu Zhiqian, please don't go crazy with Ni Yue!"
Zhang Chenling couldn't help but reach out and slam the back of the driver's seat.
Ni Yue pushed her hand away. "We can't wait any longer. Today is worse than tomorrow. Let's catch up and ask right now. Speed up! Speed up!"
"Xu Zhiqian, slow down!"
"Oh no! He's about to turn! Change lanes! Change lanes!"
…
The two women's high-decibel screams almost blew off the roof of the van.
Finally, there was a loud bang and silence.
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