Chapter 81
Inside the chief physician's office.
About fifteen minutes later, Dr. Shan returned. He looked at Chen Yan, who was sitting upright but whose back seemed a little stiff, and sighed inwardly.
He sat down in the chair, looked at Chen Yan and said, "Have you been waiting long?"
"No."
After exchanging pleasantries, Dr. Shan didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Chen Yan, your mother-in-law's condition isn't very optimistic."
"As you know, your mother-in-law was in poor condition when she first came to the hospital. She has been relying on expensive imported medicines to keep going until now, when she is at her last gasp."
Chen Yan understood the unspoken meaning behind Dr. Shan's words, but at this moment he wished he hadn't understood: "Doctor, how much longer can my mother-in-law live?"
"Not necessarily."
Dr. Shan filled a glass of water for him from the water dispenser behind him and handed it to him: "It could be a year, or it could only be a few months."
Chen Yan took the glass of water and placed it on the table, but did not drink it.
His mind was a complete mess, as if he had lost the ability to think. He looked at the doctor, a hint of confusion in his eyes: "But the New Year is just a few months away..."
Upon hearing this, Dr. Shan's emotions were somewhat complicated. As a doctor, he witnessed life and death every day and had become somewhat indifferent to them.
However, Grandma Chen Yan's situation was somewhat special. Firstly, because she was a patient whom the hospital director had personally instructed him to take good care of, and secondly, because he had been taking care of Grandma Chen Yan for almost ten years.
It could be said that he sees this patient more often than he sees his own children.
And then there's Chen Yan, who comes to the hospital to visit his mother-in-law every Saturday without fail. As a doctor, he has seen too many patients who have been abandoned by their families, so seeing such a kind and compassionate child naturally moved him.
He didn't say anything, just patted the boy on the shoulder, letting him have some peace and quiet in the office, while he went out to smoke a cigarette.
When Dr. Shan returned, Chen Yan had composed himself. He looked at Dr. Shan and said, "Dr. Shan, Xiang Wan is in the prime of her career and is very busy. As for my mother-in-law's matter... there's no need to tell her."
"I'll talk to her about it when I have time."
"good."
After leaving the chief physician's office, Chen Yan walked through the corridor to her mother-in-law's ward.
Outside the ward, he took a deep breath, and when he opened the ward door, he was smiling.
"Grandma, I'm here."
Hearing the sound, the mother-in-law stopped the caregiver who was about to pour her water and boasted to her, "Look how filial my grandson is. I told him to study hard, but he still came to see me."
The caregiver smiled and agreed, "Yes, yes, we've all seen how filial Xiao Yan is."
The mother-in-law looked at Chen Yan, her wrinkles smiling. She glanced behind him and, seeing no one there, said with a hint of disappointment, "Didn't you say you were bringing the young lady this week?"
Chen Yan then remembered the phone call he made to his mother when he was confirming his relationship with Xiang Wan.
Seeing that he didn't speak, his mother-in-law asked again, "Did you make the young lady angry?"
Seeing the respirator on his mother-in-law's face, Chen Yanqiang suppressed his grief and pretended not to see anything, explaining with a smile, "Miss is too busy. Her company is currently working on developing high-end cars, so she's very busy."
The mother-in-law didn't suspect anything after hearing this, and even told him to help her as much as he could: "The young lady has been kind to us. If it weren't for her, where would you be today? Forget about going to university, it would be difficult for you to even make a living..."
She wanted to continue, but Chen Yan interrupted her helplessly: "Mother-in-law, I know, we've been saying this for years."
"Xiao Yan, you must know how to be grateful, no matter how many years have passed..."
The mother-in-law is hard of hearing, so she speaks very loudly. Chen Yan looked at the caregiver beside him and explained in a low voice with some helplessness, "The old lady is a bit talkative, please bear with her."
"No, no."
Chen Yan said to the caregiver, "You can go home now and come back tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I'll come again tomorrow morning."
Chen Yan stayed with his mother-in-law in the ward all night, feeding her and watching TV with her.
He peeled an apple for her and only handed it to her after blending it into a puree.
The mother-in-law was also somewhat helpless: "I've already told you, child, my teeth aren't good and I can't digest them, why do you have to go through all this trouble and insist on eating apples?"
"No trouble at all, we'll eat it if you like."
"You're such a disobedient child..."
As the grandmother spoke, her eyes reddened. Chen Yan noticed her secretly wiping away tears but pretended not to see it. Neither grandmother nor grandson looked at each other until Chen Yan casually said, "There's a curfew at the dormitory. I'll go back now."
"Then you should go back quickly, you don't need to come tomorrow."
I'll come see you again on Sunday.
As if realizing that Chen Yan might already know about her worsening condition, the mother-in-law did not stop him anymore.
She sighed, her voice slightly nasal: "Anyway... if you want to come, then come."
"……Um."
After leaving the ward, Chen Yan sat alone on the cold steps of the stairwell, feeling utterly desolate.
When he left the hospital, it was already past nine o'clock at night. Chen Yan did not take a taxi, but walked back to the villa alone.
The distance from the hospital to the villa was more than ten kilometers, and it took him three hours to walk there. By the time he walked back to the Xiang family villa, he was completely exhausted.
It was just before midnight when Chen Yan dragged himself upstairs, only to notice that the lights in the corridor were on.
He stopped and looked at Xiang Wan sitting on the sofa. Most of her figure was hidden in the shadows, and he couldn't see her expression, but he knew she was waiting for him.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" His voice was much lower than usual. He was just too tired, but his words sounded somewhat distant.
"I'm waiting for you."
Xiang Wan didn't make excuses; she was straightforward, or more accurately, she was waiting for his explanation.
Today, the campus forum is flooded with photos of Chen Yan and Li Xiaohua, praising how sweet and special their love is.
Chen Yan knew that now was the best time for him to explain, but he couldn't explain why. He didn't want to say a word, or even take a shower. He just wanted to lie in bed and get a good night's sleep.
Because he is really, really tired right now.
He stood under the dim wall lamp, looking at Xiang Wan on the sofa, and said very softly, "Xiang Shuhan, goodnight."
Xiang Wan didn't say anything, but she could sense his perfunctory attitude. Without uttering a word, she got up and walked towards her bedroom.
Chen Yan looked at the room door she had closed and suddenly felt a strange feeling. He had a feeling that he and Xiang Shuhan hadn't been together for long and that they might break up soon.
However, he remained in place for a long time, and ultimately chose to remain silent...
*
Since their unpleasant parting that night, the two of them have never appeared at the villa together.
The two finally reunited at the villa a few days before Lunar New Year's Eve.
Wang Yidong accompanied Xia Yueshen to a medical conference abroad before the Lunar New Year. However, they encountered extreme weather there and were unable to fly back to China for a week. Therefore, this year's Lunar New Year's Eve dinner consisted of just the two of them.
Xiang Wan originally wanted to stay in the apartment, but because of the phone call from Dr. Shan, she chose to go back to the villa for the New Year.
Although it had been almost two months since she last saw Chen Yan, she could roughly piece together his recent life from the trio's conversations, which suggested he was probably shuttling between the hospital and the school.
She didn't know about Grandma Chen Yan's condition before, because she was very busy as the end of the year approached. If it weren't for the phone call from Dr. Shan, she might not have even known that Grandma Chen Yan's health had deteriorated so much.
In the past two months, gossip about Chen Yan and Li Xiaohua has been rampant, but since the parties involved have not come forward, Xiang Wan naturally has not intervened.
However, perhaps because she knew about her mother-in-law's situation, Xiang Wan chose to be tolerant of his unusual behavior this time.
In addition, she is not a particularly emotional person, so she returned to the villa the day before New Year's Eve.
Chen Yan seemed a little surprised to see her, but was clearly happy: "I'm going to buy groceries now so we can cook New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow."
Xiang Wan chuckled softly, "Okay."
Neither of them mentioned anything unpleasant. The two of them laughed and joked with each other just like before, as if their previous unpleasant parting was just their imagination.
On New Year's Eve, Chen Yan started preparing a feast early in the morning.
Although it was just the two of them eating, he still cooked eight dishes. Although Xiang Wan helped him while he cooked, Chen Yan did all the food preparation, chopping and stir-frying by himself.
When Xiang Wan showed Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen a picture of the New Year's Eve dinner, they were both visibly surprised.
Wang Yidong: "Did you and Chen Yan do all of this?"
Xia Yueshen: "Xiang Shuhan doesn't know how to cook, so it was probably Chen Yan who did it."
"..." Xiang Wan, "I also helped."
In the evening, after the two finished their New Year's Eve dinner, Xiang Wan went back to her bedroom to video chat with her parents. After the video chat, she went downstairs to watch Chen Yan make dumplings.
He was wearing a black hoodie and standing in front of the dining table rolling out dumpling wrappers.
Although it doesn't quite match his appearance, it makes him seem very gentle.
Chen Yan had already rolled up his sleeves, but his clothes still got some flour on them.
Xiang Wan sat opposite him, watching his hands rolling out the dough: "After we finish eating dumplings, let's go to the hospital to see Grandma."
Chen Yan paused, his hand holding the rolling pin, and his voice suddenly became somewhat low: "Thank you."
"It's nothing." Xiang Wan didn't look him in the eye. "It's only right to visit our elders during the New Year."
The two seemed to have returned to the time when he was 10 years old and had just arrived at the villa, polite yet distant.
Chen Yan is the male lead chosen by Xiang Wan, and also her chosen future partner. If he doesn't make any mistakes that violate his principles, she doesn't really want to give him up.
Whether it was because the other party was too distant or it was just a whim, Xiang Wan did something she would never normally do.
She dipped her index finger in the flour on the table and touched it to Chen Yan's nose.
He didn't flinch, but just stared at her in surprise, wondering what she was up to.
When Chen Yan realized that Xiang Wan was playing a trick on him, a smile appeared in his eyes. He looked at her without saying anything, but he followed suit and tapped the tip of her nose with his fingertip.
"Now you have one too."
Xiang Wan originally intended to stop there, but perhaps her hidden competitive spirit was activated, and she couldn't help but retaliate again.
Fifteen minutes later, the entire living room was a mess, with flour all over the dining table, sofa, and floor.
"Xiang Shuhan, I request a truce. I'm going to cook dumplings."
"……approve."
After Chen Yan finished cooking the dumplings, the two ate them face to face. Looking at each other's faces covered in flour, they couldn't help but laugh.
Up to this point, everything was still going well.
Until that phone call from the caregiver—
"Is that Chen Yan? Your mother-in-law, she..."
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