Chapter 478 Illness
Meng Qingyin and the others worked until midnight before they finally managed to collect the required gears.
The temperature in the mountains was getting lower and lower, and the fog was getting thicker and thicker. Even Zhang Yan's super-powerful flashlight could not penetrate the fog, and the light was very dim.
The group stopped collecting gears and planned to collect them for another day the next day before heading out of the mountains and back to their tents to sleep.
...
"Chen Leying, your uncle says he needs to see you urgently. You should go there right away."
It was lunchtime when Chen Leying felt someone push her arm, and she immediately opened her eyes alertly.
The classroom fan whirred, bringing a cool breeze.
Chen Leying was stunned. Where was she? Shouldn't she be...?
She frowned. Where should she be? Why couldn't she remember?
Seeing her blank expression, the homeroom teacher urged, "Your uncle is waiting for you in the office. He said there's an emergency at home. Go see him quickly."
uncle?
Chen Leying remembered; she did indeed have an uncle.
What urgent matter does her uncle want with her?
A sense of unease suddenly rose in Chen Leying's heart, as if something she could not undo was about to happen.
She took off running towards the office.
A middle-aged man of medium build stood in the office. He had a full beard and looked very haggard.
This is indeed her uncle, Chen Yugang.
Upon seeing Chen Leying, Chen Yugang choked up and said, "Yingying, your brother is sick... come with me to the hospital."
Chen Leying felt dizzy and almost lost her balance. She grabbed the office door and forced herself to calm down, asking, "What's wrong with my brother? What illness does he have?"
A ridiculous idea gradually rose in her mind, but she deliberately avoided it.
Chen Yugang stammered, "Your brother has been diagnosed with... leukemia, and it's already in its late stage. He only has a few days left. He was afraid of interfering with your college entrance exam, so he asked us to keep it from you. But he went into the emergency room again this morning. I'm afraid he... you'll have regrets."
The college entrance exam is just around the corner, and he didn't want to disturb his niece's focused study.
But now is a matter of life and death, and if she doesn't tell her niece about her nephew's illness, it will be a regret for the rest of her life.
Chen Leying's bad premonition came true, but she didn't have time to think about why she had such a premonition. She rushed to the school gate like a madwoman.
At the hospital, Chen Leping had been transferred to a regular ward. He was still unconscious, his cheeks were deeply sunken, and his face was almost bloodless.
Chen Leying pushed open the door and saw her brother lying lifelessly on the bed. She suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if this was not the first time she had experienced something like this.
Chen Leying stepped forward and tightly grasped Chen Leping's hand, her tears flowing like a broken string of pearls, unstoppable.
She couldn't understand it. Her brother was perfectly fine when she went home last time, and everything was normal. How could he have developed such a serious illness in just one week?
Just then, Chen Leping slowly woke up. Seeing that Chen Leying was still wearing her school uniform, he smiled weakly, "Yingying, so you found out after all..."
Chen Leying was angry; she was angry that her brother had kept his illness a secret from her.
But seeing how thin her brother was, all her anger dissipated, and she only had one thought: "If you cooperate well with the treatment, there is definitely still hope."
Chen Leping still smiled, "I will cooperate with the treatment. I haven't waited for you to get into your dream university yet, I won't leave you alone..."
After saying just a few words, he was panting heavily, and all the color drained from his face.
Chen Leying was startled and quickly told him to get some rest.
Chen Leping soon fell into a deep sleep again.
Chen Leying then wiped away her tears and asked Chen Yugang when this happened.
Chen Yugang sighed, "Actually, your brother was diagnosed with leukemia half a year ago. He has been actively cooperating with the treatment, and the treatment effect is quite good. However, a month ago, his condition suddenly deteriorated and developed into the late stage in just one month... You have the college entrance examination in the next few days, and he didn't want us to tell you because he was afraid it would affect you."
"Late stage...how much longer can you live?" Chen Leying asked calmly.
Chen Yugang couldn't bear it: "...It'll only be a few days."
Chen Leying looked at her brother on the hospital bed, her expression numb.
Just then, a voice came from the next bed: "You must be Chen Leying?"
Chen Leying turned her head and looked over. It was a burly man with a buzz cut. "You are..."
“My name is Zheng Yang,” the man said, glancing over at them, but his eyes were lifeless. “I’m your brother’s classmate, and now we’re fellow patients.”
Chen Leying was preoccupied with her sick brother and had no intention of talking to him. She simply nodded politely and sat down by the bedside to watch over Chen Leping.
Zheng Yang glanced in this direction for a few seconds before looking away.
...
For the next few days, Chen Leying stayed in the ward. During that time, she watched Chen Leping curl up in pain, banging his head against the railing again and again, and her heart ached.
In her memory, her brother was always full of vigor and high spirits. This was the first time she had ever seen him so disheveled and in pain.
There was even a moment when she thought that perhaps death would be a relief, better than being tormented by illness to the point of being unrecognizable like she was now.
However, Chen Leping also had times when he wasn't in so much pain. During these times, he would always chat with her gently, as if he had never been sick and was always the brother who sheltered her from the wind and rain.
Chen Leping was mostly asleep, and Zheng Yang, who was in the next bed, would take the initiative to chat with Chen Leying, telling her some interesting stories about Chen Leping during his university years.
Chen Leying listened very attentively, as she wanted to learn more about her brother's life.
Until the evening of June 6th, Uncle Chen Yugang walked into the ward with his college entrance examination admission ticket.
At this moment, Chen Leping was in a rare good mood, and even took the initiative to peel an apple for Chen Leying.
Chen Yugang placed the admission ticket on the table and said, "Yingying, the college entrance exam is tomorrow. Whether you want to take the exam or not is up to you."
Before Chen Leying could say anything, Chen Leping handed her the peeled apple and said earnestly, "Yingying, I'll be waiting for you when you go to take the exam tomorrow."
Chen Leying smiled and shook her head: "No, I want to stay here with you."
Nothing is more important than my brother.
Chen Leping got angry. He frowned and said, "Don't you want to go to the university of your dreams? The college entrance exam can affect your whole life. You have to take the exam tomorrow!"
Chen Leping almost never lost his temper with his sister, who was five years younger than him.
Their parents divorced when they were very young. The court awarded custody of him to his father and custody of Chen Leying to her mother. However, her mother soon remarried and moved abroad, never taking Chen Leying with her.
He brought his sister to live with his father. His father was always very busy with work, so he was the one who took care of their daily needs.
Chen Leying has always been a well-behaved child, rarely doing anything to upset others. On the contrary, she has always been someone he is proud of.
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