Chapter 65: Do You Want to Go to the Hospital?
"Jiang Ranxu, you'd better tell us the truth. Not only do you have the same surname, but your ID cards also have the same address: No. xx, xx Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing. Why don't you admit that Jiang Shao is your father?"
The police officer in front of me was about 40 or 50 years old. People who have been dealing with the grassroots for a long time have similar characteristics: majestic, slick, and experienced.
He stacked their ID cards together and rubbed them repeatedly like shuffling cards. Perhaps because the mediation room was so quiet, the clacking sound of the magnetic cards was particularly harsh.
Don't overlap, Jiang Shao's ID card is too dirty! Jiang Ranxu collapsed silently, his eyes could burn a hole through the other person's hand:
"He's really not my father. I signed a disownment agreement the year I came of age. We both signed it. You can ask the local police station; his wicked deeds are well-known."
The fathers of mammals are like mushrooms after July, each with its own unique poison. Grassroots police stations are the vanguard of drug eradication.
The local police officer was used to seeing similar cases. He just glanced at Jiang Shao and said, "Jiang Shao, what have you done? Do you love beating your wife or gambling? You're dishonest when you were young, and your children despise you when you're old. You regret it now, don't you?"
Jiang Shao felt that he was in the wrong, so he shrank his neck and groaned in pain.
They both deserve fifty lashes for handling the case. Seeing that Jiang Shao had already obeyed the law, the local police officer continued to educate Jiang Ranxu: "Jiang Ranxu, what's the point of a severance agreement? Signing such a thing violates public order and good morals, and the law will not support you. There are no perfect parents in the world, and which parent doesn't have some mistakes? After all, your parents raised you to adulthood. No matter how dissatisfied you are, they have to bear the responsibility of taking care of you in your old age."
The local police officer didn't notice Jiang Ranxu's rejection at all, and even put the two ID cards together corner to corner, edge to edge, and made them fit together perfectly. He also warned Jiang Shao:
"Jiang Shao, don't be so complacent. Your son needs medical treatment, and you're going to cause trouble at their workplace. I'm telling you, it's lucky you caused this in Haidian. If you had done it in... do you know what international summit was held recently? You'd be sent to jail for provoking trouble!"
Jiang Shao's face was sallow, the lower half of his face seemingly gnawed and necrotic. Unable to muster any intense emotion, he could only mumble. He was a man who often swallowed his words, and now his words became even more cryptic. "I didn't mean to cause trouble... I have a toothache, and he's a dentist, so I just wanted to see him. Can't I also ask my own son?"
"Of course you can, but you have to arrange a time with them in advance and go when they are free."
Jiang Shao looked pitiful: "He doesn't want to talk to me and only contacts his mother. What can I do?"
"Jiang Ranxu, the agreement you signed is useless. Jiang Shao is still your father. Now your father is sick. If it's convenient, you can borrow the equipment from your unit to help him check; if it's not convenient, you can take him to another hospital to register." The police officer said bluntly, "Then the matter is very clear. You can leave and sign the receipt and go back."
Jiang Ranxu's heart was pounding as he struggled, "But Officer Wang, please contact the police station in our area first. At least find out what this person did when he was young..."
"We're all Beijing guys, why are you wasting time? Hurry up and sign the contract."
The police officer threw the two ID cards back.
Jiang Ranxu was completely speechless. He could only pick up a corner of his own ID card. The slightly sticky touch reminded him of a scene of germs growing wildly. He quickly found a tissue and wrapped the contaminated ID card tightly before putting it back in his pocket.
Jiang Shaoze transformed into a silent, life-seeking ghost. Jiang Ranxu walked out of the mediation room, signed the receipt, and stood at the police station door to hail a taxi. The other party followed him closely, determined to get a life-saving prescription from him.
Jiang Ranxu was plagued by a sense of inexplicable irritation. He felt a burning sensation in his spine, the urge to tell the man to get lost boiling in his throat. But when he glanced back at the old face, its complexion as hardened as a lump of earth. He had seen so many patients with similar symptoms before, and it was clear the pain had reached the nerves of his teeth. Professional inertia prevented him from speaking.
Damn it, he should have given up on the medical ethics exam!
The online taxi slowly stopped in front of the police station. Jiang Ranxu jumped into the passenger seat and waited for the other driver to slowly wriggle into the back seat before telling the driver to head to the dental clinic.
On the way, Jiang Ranxu wiped his ID card with an alcohol swab, remembering how, before he became an adult and hadn't moved out of his family, he'd often interacted with low-level police officers, gradually learning their patterns. Most of these officers didn't help the right or their relatives, and in principle, they would give both parties fifty lashes, with deductions based on the degree to which either side claimed the moral high ground.
He was so thin his ribs were visible. Every time he stood at the police station door, his ugly, worn school uniform draped in blood, he felt like he was standing on the Mount Everest of moral high ground. Jiang Shaoze, young and hot-headed, spoke with a Beijing accent, which was bound to get him into trouble. Even if the truth was that both sides had fought, in the end, only Jiang Shao received the seven-day detention center tour package.
But now the tables have turned. He's grown up, has a good job, and yet he's abandoned his destitute, pathetic old father. A complete ungrateful wretch. He deserves to be punished for his moral turmoil.
"Open your mouth."
Jiang Ranxu put on plastic gloves and gave the order. But if Jiang Shao opened his mouth even slightly, he would twist like a leech on the dental chair, uttering painful moans that nearly brought tears to his eyes.
He had to repeat himself: "Stop screaming. I know it hurts, but you have to open your mouth as much as possible, otherwise I can't examine you."
The man finally slowly opened his mouth to the width of two fingers. A strange, stench immediately penetrated the medical mask, sending a frantic signal of danger into Jiang Ranxu's head.
Jiang Ranxu didn't hesitate. He stuffed a mouth expander into the man's mouth and inserted a mouth mirror. The shadowless light finally illuminated the miserable state inside the man's mouth.
This was no longer a human mouth, but a parasitic alien nest. A large area of decayed white had taken over the mucous membranes at the base of the tongue and lower gums, becoming a breeding ground for a strange disease, and had quietly spawned a strangely shaped black protrusion.
Jiang Ranxu was horrified. He had probably guessed the truth. He took back the mouth mirror and threw it into the iron tray, only to be greeted by a painful thud.
"Go ahead and register at the oncology department of a public hospital as soon as possible."
The mouth mirror failed to maintain balance, and both ends continued to hit the iron tray, making a series of ear-scraping noises.
Jiang Shao seemed to have not heard his judgment clearly, and asked blankly: "Why?"
"Why? Don't you realize how bad your mouth is? I should ask you, why did you only think of seeing a doctor now?"
"I just have a toothache, why should I go to the oncology department?"
"Toothache is just a common symptom. It can occur with minor or serious illnesses. But yours is not an ordinary dental disease, so we can't treat it."
The other person's eyes gradually became hollow, and he could only repeat vaguely: "I won't go... You treat it for me, it's just the pain in my lower left tooth, just pull it out..."
"I'll say this one last time. I don't have the ability to treat you. Don't come to my office to see me again."
Jiang Ranxu ignored the other party's entanglement and changed his clothes and left work without permission.
He tried to force himself to forget today's farce, but the illness in the other person's mouth seemed to infect him, and a white ulcer appeared in his heart. Jiang Ranxu was very irritable. He lit a cigarette as soon as he walked outside. Then he remembered that smoking is the main cause of cancer, and his mood completely dropped.
He returned to the hospital, bought a few boxes of painkillers and saline solution at the pharmacy, and asked his colleagues to pass them on to the patients in his clinic.
——
"Jiang Ranxu, are you cleaning again?"
Meng Weishen changed into slippers and called into the house, but the only response he got was the rumbling sound of the washing machine.
After a while, Jiang Ranxu finally appeared at the bathroom door. He was clearly washing something, his sleeves rolled up, but his shirt was still slightly wet, and his face was stained with foamy water. He looked completely damp.
As for what exactly was being washed, the answer was obvious. Meng Weishen looked around the living room and saw the bare sofa, its cover missing; the bare chair, its cushions missing; the bare French window, its curtains gone. Presumably, the bedroom sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases hadn't been spared either.
In this bare home, Meng Weishen couldn't even find a place to sit, so he had to go to the refrigerator to get a drink.
Jiang Ranxu wiped the foam off his face with the back of his hand, and said awkwardly, "Don't you get off work at six? Counting the travel time, you shouldn't be home until almost seven. It's only a little after five now..."
"It was supposed to be six o'clock. But there's nothing important to do today, so I left early." Meng Weishen, as usual, put his arms around Jiang Ranxu's neck and kissed his wet cheek. "What's wrong? Can't I go home early? Anyway, I want to go home. I want to go home and see you."
Jiang Ranxu's posture was stiff, and he slightly avoided his kiss: "Don't kiss me yet, there is dirty water on my face."
"Are you almost done? Do you want me to help you?"
"No, I can wash it myself. It will be done soon."
"You have to wash by hand even though the washing machine is running?"
"Hand wash first before washing, otherwise the dirt will mix together."
"But you just washed it last week, so it can't be that dirty."
"It's still dirty even if you don't wash it for a day. The only difference is that the microorganisms are invisible to the naked eye."
...For the first time, Meng Weishen felt that being too hygienic also had its drawbacks, and that life was simply too tiring.
Never mind. Even in the industrial age, there were still plenty of handicraft enthusiasts, hand-knitting wool, making hairpins, and the like. Perhaps those who love handwashing clothes also fall into the category of "handicraft enthusiasts."
Jiang Ranxu wouldn't let him touch the water, so Meng Weishen had to assist. He helped put on new sheets and quilt covers, started the vacuum cleaner, and after a few laps around the room, he only managed to clear out a pitiful handful of dust.
He went out to walk the dog and brought back two servings of modified clay pot rice for dinner. But Jiang Ranxu said he wasn't hungry, so he had to finish one of the servings by himself and went back to the bedroom.
Weekday evenings are especially short. Meng Wei pored over several cutting-edge articles related to the new company's business before the night wore on.
Jiang Ranxu clearly said that it would be done soon, but the roar of the washing machine did not stop, making him lose all desire to sleep.
Meng Weishen threw down his iPad and walked towards the bathroom.
Under the cold white chandelier, Jiang Ranxu was still washing a white cushion. But Meng Weishen remembered that when he called Jiang Ranxu to dinner, he was also washing the same cushion - was Jiang Ranxu repeating the same task?
He knocked on the bathroom door: "It's late, let's take a shower tomorrow."
"It will be fine soon."
Jiang Ranxu's expression was numb, his eyes unblinking, locked in a basin of foam. If his arms hadn't been washing themselves, he would have been reduced to a cold, white sculpture.
"You said the same thing six hours ago."
For some reason, Jiang Ranxu suddenly became irritated: "I told you not to! Do you have to stare at me? Can't you just go to sleep first?"
The atmosphere froze until a bubble burst in mid-air, leaving no corpse behind, as if it had never existed.
Meng Weishen had never encountered Jiang Ranxu's dislike before. His head was spinning, and every joint in his body didn't know how to react. He said in a daze, "No, I didn't mean to stare at you. I just thought you were too tired. You should go to bed early too."
The noise echoed in Meng Weishen's ears. He was like a piece of laundry, repeatedly washed and wrung out. He collapsed on the edge of the bed, spread out his limbs, let them air themselves, and slowly regained his breath.
Meng Weishen thought of leaving a night light on for Jiang Ranxu. Just as he stood up to switch it on, a shadow suddenly appeared at the bedroom door. It was Jiang Ranxu.
He didn't have time to be surprised before the other woman pounced on him, tightly entangling his legs. Even through his cotton pajamas, Meng Weishen could still feel the hot and damp touch, as if a midsummer rainstorm had fallen on him. Although he was still confused, the rainstorm brought with it a strong emotional impact, and his heart tightened.
Jiang Ranxu murmured: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drive you away, I can't control it..."
To comfort him, Meng Weishen touched Jiang Ranxu's back, and the subtle tremor and scorching body temperature were transmitted to him. Meng Weishen quickly connected his brain circuits and came to a terrible conclusion:
"Don't talk about that, Jiang Ranxu. You seem to be sick, we have to go to the hospital."
"No, I don't want to go to the hospital. The hospital outpatient building is full of germs. Please let me stay. You are the cleanest person."
Do doctors really hate hospitals? How could he possibly be cleaner than a disinfectant? Meng Weishen couldn't understand, thinking he was just talking nonsense while sick. "Look, you've got a fever, and you're not going to the hospital. I'll go get you a thermometer."
He had just moved his legs when Jiang Ranxu clamped him down again, not allowing him to move an inch. A slight, dull pain tingled through his bones.
Jiang Ranxu raised his pale face:
"Meng Weishen, if a stranger calls you recently, don't answer. If a stranger asks to meet you, don't agree. Also, you should move out for the time being."
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