132. Are you Conan?
Ling Ling noticed Zhong Mingtong was hesitant to speak, so she said generously, "Doctor Zhong, thank you for today. I'll be leaving now. If there's anything I don't understand about the medical dispute, I might ask you for help later. Don't think I'm annoying; you can consider this a charity, for the physical and mental health of millions of girls. If there's anything I can help with, feel free to call me." "So—have you had your follow-up checkup recently? Will you be back?" Zhong Mingtong asked cautiously. "My attending doctor said I need to come back in a week and a month, but I don't need to make an appointment with him specifically; any outpatient doctor can see me," Ling Ling said, already slinging her bag over her shoulder. Zhong Mingtong thought for a moment before finally deciding to ask, "Have you contacted Hao Shengnan recently?" Ling Ling hadn't expected him to ask about her and Shengnan, so she replied glumly, "We had a big fight a while ago, and we haven't been in touch since." She didn't want to talk about that Friday when she was in the most pain, and how she had been thinking about asking Shengnan for help. Because she hadn't answered her calls, and perhaps she had already blocked him, she felt a little resentful that he had ignored her in such a critical moment. "So, do you still want to see her?" Ling Ling noticed that Zhong Mingtong was asking cautiously, and she asked Zhong Mingtong suspiciously, "Doctor Zhong, is there something you want to tell me?" Zhong Mingtong swallowed and said, "She doesn't want me to tell you, but I think you might still want to see her." "Her? Who? Hao Shengnan? What's wrong with her? Where can I see her? At her house across from your hospital?" Ling Ling was a little confused by his heavy tone. "He's hospitalized here now." It seemed difficult for Zhong Mingtong to say this. Ling Ling saw something ominous in his eyes. "What's wrong with her?" she asked anxiously. When Zhong Mingtong brought Ling Ling to the door of Hao Shengnan's ward, she hesitated through the glass window, not daring to go in. Zhong Mingtong comforted her, saying, "Shengnan is in a good mood. You should spend time with her in her final days. Life is full of unexpected events, so we just have to do our best. I have to go back now. You should take care of yourself, too. You're also a patient now." Ling Ling nodded sadly. After he left, she gazed at Shengnan through the glass window. Shengnan lay alone on the bed by the window, the headboard raised just enough for her to look out at the spring scenery. She wore a dark blue cotton hat with a spiral pattern, and it looked as if she had no hair. Her face was pale, and her eyes...
Ling Ling noticed that Zhong Mingtong was hesitant to speak, so she said to him generously, "Doctor Zhong, thank you for today. I'll be leaving now. If there's anything I don't understand about medical disputes, I might still need your help later. Don't think I'm annoying. You can also consider this a charity, for the physical and mental health of tens of millions of girls. If there's anything I can help with, feel free to call me."
"Then - have you had a follow-up check recently? Will you come back again?" Zhong Mingtong asked cautiously.
"The attending doctor said that I need to come back for a follow-up check in a week and a month, but there is no need to make an appointment with him specifically, the outpatient doctors can see me." Ling Ling said as she slung the bag over her shoulder.
Zhong Mingtong thought about it and finally decided to ask her: "Have you contacted Hao Shengnan recently?"
Ling Ling hadn't expected him to ask about her and Sheng Nan, so she replied unhappily, "We had a big fight a while ago, and we haven't been in touch since." She didn't want to talk about how she'd been wanting to ask Sheng Nan for help during her most painful time that Friday. She still felt a bit resentful that Sheng Nan hadn't answered her calls, and maybe had blocked her. She'd ignored her in her time of need, and she was still feeling a bit resentful.
"So, do you want to see her again?"
Ling Ling noticed that Zhong Mingtong asked this question cautiously. She asked Zhong Mingtong suspiciously, "Doctor Zhong, do you want to tell me something?"
Zhong Mingtong swallowed and said, "She doesn't want me to tell you, but I think you might still want to meet her."
"She? Who? Hao Shengnan? What happened to her? Where should I go to meet her? At her home opposite your hospital?" Ling Ling was a little confused by his heavy tone.
"He is hospitalized here now." It seemed difficult for Zhong Mingtong to say this.
Ling Ling saw some ominous signs in his eyes, "What happened to her?" she asked anxiously.
When Zhong Mingtong brought Ling Ling to the door of Hao Shengnan's ward, she hesitated behind the glass window and didn't dare to go in.
Zhong Mingtong comforted her, saying, "Shengnan is in a good mood. You should spend time with her during her final days. Life always brings unexpected events. We just need to do our best. I have to go back first. You should also take care of yourself. You are also a patient now."
Ling Ling nodded sadly, and after he left, she stared at Sheng Nan through the glass window again.
Sheng Nan lay alone in her hospital bed by the window, the headboard raised just enough for her to gaze out at the spring scenery. She wore a dark blue cotton hat with a spiral pattern, and looked as if she had no hair. Her face was pale, her eyes dull, and her body, lying on the bed, resembled a withered white lotus.
Ling Ling's heart sank into an abyss. She felt an unbearable soreness in her throat, as if she wanted to cry, but she seemed to have forgotten how to let the tears flow. She opened the door with trembling hands and slowly walked to her bed.
Sheng Nan slowly turned his head and was startled when he saw her, but then he smiled brightly and said, "Why are you here?"
"What happened to you?" Ling Ling wanted to blame her, but her trembling voice sounded like she was acting coquettishly.
Sheng Nan smiled with relief and said, "He has advanced stomach cancer. I guess he'll die soon."
Ling Ling choked up her lips and tears fell, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She asked her with a sob. If she was healthy, she really wanted to punch her.
"We had a big fight, and I thought that with your personality, you would probably never contact me again in this life. I thought it was just right, so you don't have to be sad about my death." Her voice was weak, but still stubbornly carried a joking tone.
Ling Ling sat powerlessly on the stool beside her bed, threw herself on her quilt, and cried while blaming her: "Why would I stop contacting you? I had surgery the day before yesterday, and I only thought of you. I wanted to see you and hear you talk to me. I think we should forgive each other. I want to reconcile with you, make it even, and be as good as before, okay? I also blamed you for not answering my calls when I was in the most pain, and you are already so sick!"
Sheng Nan stroked her head, smiled teasingly and said, "I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you would be so sad. I was also afraid that when you recall me, you would remember that the last words I said to me were 'Go to hell', and then I died."
Ling Ling raised her panicked, tearful eyes and said, "Yes, that's what I said at the time. I was so hateful! So, tell me, is everything because of me, my parents, and you? Fortunately, I broke up with Yu Chuanbei. I can't mess with others anymore. Am I the nemesis of everyone close to me?"
"Haha, sadness really does make people dumber!" Sheng Nan laughed heartily, seeming more energetic. "Do you think you're Conan, dying wherever you go? I was sick before you and I had an argument. I asked Ren Qingshi to come over that day because I wanted to say goodbye to him. Of course, I didn't tell him I was sick. At the time, I was worried about how to stop contacting him without him finding out. You making a fuss, and that just gave me an excuse."
"Why didn't you tell him?" Ling Ling asked in confusion, and felt even more distressed for her. It turned out that for a long time, she had been facing the impending death alone.
Shengnan looked out the window again before saying, "I don't want her to see me like this. Our love was untimely and not indestructible. I was there for him when he was most depressed, and that's enough. I seem to be redundant in every marriage, my parents', Qingshi's, and Rong Xinhua's. Now that it's fine, I'm leaving."
"No, Shengnan, you are not redundant to me. I need you very much. I have always treated you as my mother. You are my only family in this world." Ling Ling held Shengnan's hand tightly, tears streaming down her face, as if as long as she held it tight enough, Shengnan would not disappear.
Instead, Sheng Nan began to comfort her calmly. It was not until the doctor came in and gave Sheng Nan medicine that Ling Ling's emotions calmed down a little.
She hid in the corridor outside the ward and called Fang Tuowu. She choked up and told him about Shengnan's condition, saying that this was her last relative in this world and that she wanted to take leave to spend her final days with her. Surprisingly, Fang Tuowu readily agreed.
"Thank you, Mr. Fang. I will ask Chuqi to deliver my work computer and documents to the hospital tomorrow. The progress of the several projects currently on hand in our Group A will not be delayed, so please rest assured." Ling Ling also issued a military order to express her gratitude to him.
"It's okay. What's important is to spend time with your friends." Fang Tuowu said sincerely.
Ling Ling thought that Mr. Fang might be thinking of his widow, Yao Ye's mother, who, in her final moments of terminal illness, he had been unable to be with her and their daughter because of work. Only by experiencing similar loss could one empathize with the suffering of others.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ling Ling cared for Sheng Nan in the hospital. Caring for a terminally ill cancer patient in the oncology ward is no easy task. Every day, you watched your closest loved one battle the disease, only to be defeated time and again. Then, the disease began to disdain the fight, feeling they were no longer on the same level, and began to torment her with abusive tactics. She frequently needed emergency treatment and was issued a critical illness notice. You thought you'd never see her again, but she returned, frail and weak. But you wondered if the thought of her suffering in this final, fleeting moment of her life on earth was something to be thankful for.
When Shengnan had some energy between treatments, she would chat with Lingling. She saw Lingling had just finished discussing advertising ideas with her colleagues and couldn't help but say, "Were you discussing a skincare ad?"
After Ling Ling nodded, Sheng Nan continued, "After seeing many skin care product advertisements, the top one in my mind is Hailan."
Ling Ling packed up her laptop, sat down next to her and said, "Our company is currently working on a domestic brand. I'll tell you when I can work on a project for an international luxury brand like the one you mentioned."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to wait that long. So please buy me a bottle of Hai Lan tomorrow. I haven't used it yet and I want to use it once before I die. Tell me, can users like me be considered as Hai Lan's living advertisements? I have the obsession to use it at least once before I die." Sheng Nan actually became complacent.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
06-30
It’s time for another chapter of continuous swordsmanship… Let’s keep each other company.
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