35 You hurt me, my friend
"What time is it now?" Mr. Wang asked after lying in the bathtub.
Xu Zhiqian hurriedly lowered his head and took out his cell phone from his apron.
"I'm not asking you, I'm asking Xiao Ai!"
"Oh..." Xu Zhiqian withdrew his hand awkwardly.
Xiao Ai sighed and replied that it was 2:30 in the afternoon.
"Two-thirty?..." Mr. Wang frowned habitually, but the flesh on his forehead didn't move at all. He had to move his eyeballs desperately, but they didn't seem very flexible.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Zhang Chenling, "Please call my eldest son for me. My phone is charging."
"Huh?" Zhang Chenling was stunned. Her first reaction was that using her own phone didn't seem appropriate. "It's still nighttime in Los Angeles, right?"
"Ah what? He must not be asleep yet!"
Zhang Chenling had no choice but to take out her mobile phone, tapped her eldest son in the WeChat group of her and Mr. Wang’s two sons, and asked him if it was convenient for him to talk.
The other party did not respond.
Mr. Wang was impatient, “…Just call him and do as I say!”
Although his mouth was crooked and his eyes were squinting, he still looked stubborn. Zhang Chenling knew she couldn't persuade him, so she had to bite the bullet and make a voice call.
The call was connected half a minute later. The man on the other end was panting and sounded like he was riding the wind and waves.
Zhang Chenling was embarrassed. "Excuse me, Mr. Wang, your father wants to speak to you."
"I, I'm sleeping..."
Mr. Wang on the other end of the phone grabbed the phone without saying a word, accidentally pressed the speakerphone button, and played his son's voice out loud.
"When are you going back to Shanghai?"
"Dad... I've been super busy lately. The COO of our company resigned, and the CFO and CTO are both clamoring for raises. I'm so overwhelmed every day that I can't find the time to go back."
"You're the CEO, how can you not handle such a small matter?"
“…”
"I'm seriously ill this time, almost dying. Why don't you go back to Shanghai?"
"Dad, please stop talking nonsense. The attending doctor has already explained to me that you have...what's it called? Peripheral facial paralysis. It's not serious and can be corrected in about a week."
"Did you see that?"
"What?"
"Have you seen what I'm like now? And you still say it's not serious? I've turned into an old monster!"
"Dad, please don't be so childish. I really can't get away, otherwise I would have been on my way back."
"...Why aren't Yingying and Qiaoqiao going back to Shanghai for summer vacation?"
"They are all busier than me. They are going to summer camp in South America these days."
"Well, I want to talk to Yingying now."
"...Dad, it's already night here, she's already gone back to her room to sleep!"
"...So, remember to wake her up at 4 o'clock in the morning to look at Venus. Tell her, I've already seen it, and it's really bright."
"What is Taibai Jinxing?"
"She called me last time and said that today is the day when Venus is at its brightest. We both agreed to get up this morning to look at the stars!"
"...You just caught a cold while looking at the stars, didn't you?"
"I, I don't know... Never mind, I won't help you explain it, just go to sleep!"
Mr. Wang hung up the phone, and a stream of saliva flowed down the tilted corner of his mouth. He had been trying hard to swallow his saliva while talking on the phone just now, and now the saliva finally let out.
Ni Yue quickly wiped him clean with a tissue.
When our eyes met, I was shocked to find that the light in his eyes had gone out, and his eyeballs had become cloudy, like a light bulb covered with dust.
Although he looked ferocious just now, he was still energetic. But after making the phone call, he became dying, as if he had been possessed by another spirit.
Seeing him clutching the phone with a dazed look on his face, Zhang Chenling asked tentatively, "So, do you want to call your second son?"
"No need, he is even more heartless than the boss!" Mr. Wang handed the phone back angrily.
"That's probably because you are biased!" Ni Yue interrupted.
Zhang Chenling rolled her eyes at her when she heard that. Mr. Wang also glanced at her, and after a while he muttered, "You're right. People who have been teachers are indeed extraordinary!"
After that, he said no more.
After taking a shower, Zhang Chenling repeatedly reminded Mr. Wang to keep warm, not to turn on the air conditioner too low, and try not to open the window at night. Although it is summer now, it is still easy to catch a cold in the night wind.
Mr. Wang looked embarrassed, his lips pulled as he stammered, "Haha, you got it right. I didn't admit it just now, but I fell asleep while watching the stars on the terrace this morning, and when I woke up I felt numb on my face, so I called myself Yi Gang."
Without waiting for anyone to respond, he continued, "I made an appointment with Yingying to look at the stars. Although she's young, she's very clever and knows everything. She said that Taibai Jinxing can make her smarter and make me live longer..."
The three people pushed the bathing equipment out of Mr. Wang's room and saw the housekeeper Zhong Shu standing at the elevator entrance from a distance, chatting with the attending doctor.
I hurried over to say hello.
Uncle Zhong's forehead was covered in sweat and he was carrying a suitcase in his hand. He was in such a hurry when he sent Mr. Wang to the hospital that morning that he forgot to take many personal belongings. He just returned to the villa to get them.
Seeing his bitter face, Zhang Chenling hurriedly asked, "Uncle Zhong, what's wrong?"
"The doctor said Mr. Wang might have some other problems!" Uncle Zhong replied.
"Any other questions?" Zhang Chenling looked at the attending physician.
"Mental problems?" Ni Yue was also curious, as the attending doctor had mentioned it just now.
"No, the mental problems are secondary..." The attending doctor blushed. He was just ridiculed by Mr. Wang for having long nose hairs. He was extremely embarrassed and couldn't help complaining to these people, but they took him seriously.
Ni Yue looked at him carefully and found that there were a few tiny hairs on his lips, but the area around his nostrils was clean, probably because it had just been trimmed.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"What's going on?" Zhang Chenling didn't notice this detail and pressed the attending doctor, "Can you tell us?"
The doctor remained silent, but Uncle Zhong didn't treat them as outsiders. "Well, Mr. Wang usually gets hospitalized for a checkup in September. This time, he was sick and came in, so he got a full checkup. The doctor just mentioned that one of his prostate cancer markers is abnormal, so he needs an MRI to confirm the diagnosis. A biopsy might also be needed if necessary."
"Oh, but doesn't he have a physical every year? Why hasn't anything been discovered?"
"You've hit the nail on the head," the attending physician continued. "I just asked a colleague from the physical examination department, and he told me that Mr. Wang had refused a digital rectal exam during his previous checkups, so they had to rely solely on blood tests. However, this test is only 70% sensitive and has a certain lag, so it wasn't discovered until now."
Everyone's faces turned gloomy.
"But we don't need to jump to conclusions. It could just be prostatitis," the attending physician added. "I can't say too much about the specifics. I'm only responsible for treating the facial paralysis. Doctors from other departments will need to intervene later."
Uncle Zhong's expression remained gloomy as he angrily said, "A few days ago, his son insisted he move to a nursing home. Now, look what's happening! He hasn't even moved to a nursing home yet, and he's already been admitted to the hospital!"
"Then should we ask his two sons to come back quickly?" Ni Yue asked.
"Oh, according to their style, they won't come back until the emergency is imminent!" Uncle Zhong turned around and carried his suitcase towards the ward, muttering, "What's the point of having two sons? They're not as caring as my one daughter..."
Zhang Chenling called him from behind, "Uncle Zhong, let's add each other on WeChat. If there's anything urgent and you can't contact Mr. Wang's son, you can also contact us."
After returning to the city, the three of them didn't want to stay outside any longer, so Xu Zhiqian sent the two sisters home and left.
They walked into the house one after another.
When Ni Yue heard the door slam, his heart suddenly began to beat fast.
She felt it necessary to pull Zhang Chenling aside to talk things out and personally dismantle the landmines she had buried that night.
She wasn't above apologizing to her cousin, but how should she initiate such an awkward conversation?
Zhang Chenling threw her handbag on the sofa and walked straight to the bathroom. Without even turning her head, she asked, "I want to take a bath. Do you want to take a bath?"
Ni Yue hurriedly said okay, okay, and thought to himself: Here comes the opportunity.
The air conditioner in the living room blew into the bathroom, the temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold, and the two sisters stepped into their respective bathtubs.
They hadn't taken a bath together in about ten days.
As soon as Ni Yue sat down, she couldn't wait to grab the summer bath bag soaked in water, lowered her head and buried her face in it. The aroma of mint and colorful flowers permeated her nostrils, and she immediately felt as if her Ren and Du meridians were opened, and her whole body felt relaxed.
I looked up and found that Zhang Chenling was staring at me. She must have deliberately sat at the end of the bathtub, opposite me.
The two looked at each other for a long time, and Zhang Chenling's eyes were the first to turn red.
Ni Yue's nose felt sore when he saw this, "Cousin, I'm sorry..."
"No," Zhang Chenling interrupted her, "You don't need to apologize. What you said about me before was absolutely correct."
"I……"
"The reason I was so angry that day was because you were right. You hurt me, my friend!"
"...But, I didn't really mean to say that to you, because that's not what I really meant. I was just rambling in anger."
"It's okay. I haven't spoken to my mother for a long time. Come to think of it, it's been about half a year!" Zhang Chenling said as she tilted her head back and lay in the bathtub, her eyes twinkling.
Ni Yue hurriedly moved to the feet, put his arms on the edge of the plastic bathtub, and tried his best to get closer to his cousin. "I know your mother and brother always suck your blood and treat you like a blood bag. It's normal for you to ignore them."
She knew a lot of gossip about Zhang Chenling's family, most of which she heard from Wu Xia, but her cousin rarely complained to her.
Zhang Chenling stared at the ceiling and smiled bitterly. "According to my mom and brother, this isn't called vampirism. They deserve all my efforts. We've been in a cold war for so long without any results because of their stubbornness, and I won't compromise."
"Then just continue to ignore them. No one will say anything to you."
Ni Yue comforted her while blaming himself, thinking that he was probably the only one who had said anything about his cousin.
"Let me ask you, do you sometimes really dislike Aunt Wu?" Zhang Chenling asked, staring into Ni Yue's eyes. "I mean, the kind of dislike that comes from the bottom of my heart."
"I..." Ni Yue was speechless for a moment.
She had complicated feelings towards Wu Xia. Sometimes she thought Wu Xia was a selfish and petty person and hated her for being a hopeless case. Sometimes she felt that her short-sightedness was due to her low education and limited environment, and she couldn't help but sympathize with her.
However, there seems to have never been any disgust or hatred from the heart.
Seeing Ni Yue's embarrassment, Zhang Chenling sneered, "You don't have to be embarrassed. I don't want to hate my mother, but she's too patriarchal! She's asked me for money countless times to support Zhang Chenguang's family. I'm the blood bag for the whole family, giving them blood transfusions one by one, but in the end, they didn't even say a word of thanks, they just treated me like a fool. During our time in Hainan, my mother called me again and again for money. The last time she asked for 50,000 yuan, saying she wanted to buy a piano for Zhang Chenguang's son. But I was already struggling due to failed investments, so I refused her request the first time, but she scolded me for being a beast without conscience..."
Ni Yue didn't know how to comfort Zhang Chenling. In fact, Wu Xia also favored boys over girls. Fortunately, she had never asked him for money or sucked his blood.
Therefore, although Ni Yue was indignant about being treated like a blood bag by his family, he found it difficult to empathize with them.
"But even so," Zhang Chenling said as she closed her eyes, tears falling drop by drop from the corners of her eyes, flowing down her neck into the bathtub, "I still love my mother."
Ni Yue's eyes were red. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have mentioned this matter that day. How can a daughter not love her mother?"
Zhang Chenling raised her hand and rubbed the corner of her eyes. "Actually, I called her, but I always called in the middle of the night because I knew she would turn off her phone before going to bed. She wouldn't answer the phone if I called her, so I just lied to myself."
"Cousin..." Upon hearing this, Ni Yue finally couldn't help but cry.
Zhang Chenling opened her eyes wide with tears in her eyes. Seeing that Ni Yue was also crying, she quickly reached out to wipe her tears.
Feeling his cousin's warm fingertips brushing across his cheek, Ni Yue felt even sadder and more guilty.
"Actually, I don't know why this is happening. Why is family affection so hard to give up?" Zhang Chenling withdrew her hand, placed it on her knees, supported her cheek, and looked a little confused.
Ni Yue had never seen her like this before.
"Breaking off the relationship isn't as satisfying as I imagined, it just seems so satisfying! No matter how we break up, I'm still her daughter, and she's still my mother... I'm sorry, my thoughts are a little confused, and I've been feeling really fragile lately. The other day, when I saw you bathing Aunt Wu, I couldn't help but think of my mom. Today, when I was bathing Mr. Wang, I somehow thought of my dad, who passed away over 20 years ago. I almost forgot what he looked like, and then, naturally, I thought of Chen Hongmei..."
Zhang Chenling said in a low voice, "I think I should find time to go back to Northeast China and have a good chat with her face to face."
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