Work hard in secret, then amaze everyone.
I wanted to reach back and hug her, but she was tightly bound to the standing bed from head to toe. I couldn't reach her and could only stand there with my arms hanging down. I felt a burning sensation in my throat, and the heat gradually rose to my eyes, making my eyelids itch. In the blink of an eye, my eyelashes were wet with tears, blurring my vision.
Before I could be moved for long, Gu Wanlin's spasm suddenly flared up violently. Her arm involuntarily straightened and was pulled by the unruly muscles, slapping against me with considerable force.
I'm in pain, but I'm even more afraid of her being in pain.
Her neck muscles were pulled, causing her chin to tilt back and her head to slam against the standing bed. This was clearly not the kind of beneficial spasm she usually felt without any discomfort; she looked extremely uncomfortable, clenching her teeth to fight the twitching in her arms while trying to push me away.
"Stay away from me... or I'll hit you..."
Dr. Zhao immediately laid her flat and called for help to massage her muscles to relax them. It took a while for her to calm down completely.
Gu Wanlin was exhausted from all this ordeal. He lay on the standing bed for a long time without moving, adjusting his breathing and closing his eyes to rest.
Dr. Zhao checked the time and said, "That's about enough for today. Increase your exercise gradually, give your body enough time to rest and recover, and make sure you get plenty of nutrition."
After saying that, she frowned and looked Gu Wanlin up and down for a while, and asked, "Why do I feel like you've lost a lot of weight? When I helped you stretch today, your bones felt hard to the touch."
Gu Wanlin chuckled and said, "Tell me? Really? Hehe, no way. Maybe it's because of the black clothes you're wearing today. You look guilty."
Dr. Zhao saw through his words: "Go ahead and weigh yourself. Your diet plan also needs to be adjusted accordingly so that your body gets the nutrition it needs."
When Gu Wanlin stepped on the scale, I was utterly astonished.
When I held her last time I saw snow, what did she tell me again? She weighed almost 70 pounds.
The scale clearly showed: 64.5.
I gritted my teeth, "Gu Wanlin, you at least have a double major in mathematics. Tell me, how did you get the 70 you mentioned last time? 64.5 rounded up is 65, and 65 rounded up is 70, right?"
"Tsk," Gu Wanlin looked at the ceiling, the floor, and out the window, but not at me. "How did you learn math? How can you go from 64.5 to 70? Don't insult my profession. I usually pass 65. I sweated so much today, and you haven't even counted the water loss."
"What, you usually get 65.1, right? You're still wearing clothes, did you remove the skin from your data?"
Dr. Zhou seemed to have a headache from listening to our bickering. He pinched his temples and said, “Stop. 64.5 or 65.1, it won’t work. I have records from last autumn. Back then, I was over 70. Considering muscle atrophy and the loss of my right leg, my current weight is dangerously low. I have to get it back up as soon as possible.”
After checking her weight, she quickly checked the fit of Gu Wanlin's stump and prosthesis. Gu Wanlin herself hadn't noticed whether it was on properly, and the caregiver wouldn't be this meticulous. Sure enough, it wasn't properly fitted. She hurriedly removed it to check her skin, and sure enough, the contact surface at the end was red, which looked particularly alarming against her pale complexion.
Dr. Zhou frowned and said not to wear it today. He also reminded us to be extra careful when wearing it in the future, otherwise, if our skin gets chafed and infected or we develop pressure sores, it will be a big problem. Then he started nagging Gu Wanlin to gain weight quickly, "Not to mention anything else, otherwise your socket will have to be redone ahead of time, and you'll have to be suspended up for half a day to remove the plaster mold. Don't you want to suffer?"
I wholeheartedly agree. From today onward, I will raise Gu Wanlin with the same dedication I would show to raising pigs.
On the way home, Gu Wanlin was so tired that she just nestled in her seat and half-reclined, too lazy to even open her eyes to speak. When she heard what I said, she grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Who are you calling a pig?"
I said, Gu Wanlin, your humming sounds are quite similar.
She didn't reply to me. I glanced at her and saw that she seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion.
A languid, light female voice was softly singing from the speaker. I turned the knob to lower the volume of the car audio system.
"Whenever you are present"
There seemed to be the sound of river water inside my body.
Plants suddenly grew within a ten-mile radius
"Gentleness surrounds us both"
This is a poem by Neruda, which was directly translated into Chinese and incorporated into the lyrics by the creator. I just specially chose this song to play for her, but unfortunately she fell asleep.
During the red light, I looked to the side again. Although her eyes were closed, her eyeballs seemed to be moving. Was she really asleep?
Whether she was asleep or not at the time, she was definitely asleep when we got home, and she was still groggy when we woke her up. Today was extremely tiring for her, and she no longer insisted on moving herself, obediently letting me and Sister Zhang carry her to the wheelchair.
The back of her wheelchair was actually lower than the plane she felt. It was fine normally, but it was a bit difficult to sit in at times like this. She adjusted her position herself, but said helplessly that it didn't work and she felt like she was going to slide down. So they had to put a harness on her again.
I checked the time; I arrived at the hospital at 1 PM, and it was already getting dark, almost 5 PM. Gu Wanlin said she wanted to take a shower and sleep for a while. I said okay, I'll go buy groceries and cook when I get back. After you wake up and eat, I'll have Sister Zhang take her home first.
When they returned with their bags, Gu Wanlin was already asleep in bed, her hair still wet and wrapped in a hair drying cap. Sister Zhang was applying lotion all over her body, but she couldn't feel these actions and was sleeping soundly.
Sister Zhang lowered her voice and asked me to help support Gu Wanlin's right leg. She needed to wrap Gu Wanlin's leg with an elastic bandage, which she had to do even when he wasn't wearing a prosthesis. It was important for the shape of the stump and blood circulation.
I lifted her right leg and could even feel the severed leg bone. The soft flesh hanging on it was so light it seemed weightless. As Sister Zhang wrapped it tightly from the base, it swayed gently and looked even thinner after being wrapped up.
To avoid catching a cold, the heating in her bedroom was on full blast. I was sweating almost as soon as I came in, but her right leg was still ice-cold to the touch. I touched her left leg and upper body, and they were the same. Sister Zhang wrapped the bandage around her leg, put on her pajamas, and left the room with me.
I frowned and asked Sister Zhang, "Didn't you just take a shower? Why are you so cold?"
Ms. Zhang said that patients with high-level paraplegia have poor blood circulation, and with winter approaching, this is unavoidable.
I tried my best to suppress the slight irritation that was rising in my heart.
Gu Wanlin felt nothing in her body and didn't care about herself, so there was no need to talk about taking good care of her body. She wouldn't ask for anything, such as a warm bath or hydrotherapy to improve blood circulation. After she was injured, a bathtub more suitable for her was installed in the bathroom, but she never went in it. She always took a shower while sitting.
No matter how experienced a caregiver is, they still treat their employers like employees. Since the problem that appeared in Gu Wanlin was a common issue among these patients, she considered it normal. As long as she did her job according to the employer's instructions and didn't make any mistakes, it was just a matter of getting paid to do a job, so she was happy to save herself some effort.
I have no reason to be critical of Sister Zhang. I thought to myself, if Gu Wanlin doesn't care, then I'll care more. That's why I moved here.
Gu Wanlin and I entered into a delicate cohabitation life.
In the following weeks, work became even busier, with endless project meetings with different departments every day. I would just wash up in the morning and then leave the house, rarely having lunch with her like before.
If time permits, I will pick her up after her rehabilitation. If she is feeling well, we will go grocery shopping together. If I work overtime and come home late, Gu Wanlin will send me a message asking what I want to eat, and ask Sister Zhang to make it and save it for me.
Gu Wanlin was also busy. She went to the rehabilitation center five days a week for rehabilitation or physical therapy, and her schedule was packed. Dr. Zhao designed a rehabilitation plan for her that balanced work and rest, so she wasn't exhausted every day like the first time she went, especially since it included many small games to train hand function.
She also learned to use special chopsticks, which are like children's chopsticks with added leverage. By using her wrist and fingers, she can pick up food that is regularly shaped and relatively light, but the distance she can move is not long, otherwise she would still drop it.
She didn't tell me; she suddenly showed me this new skill.
I was talking to her about my work, and naturally I was adding food to her bowl. I felt that she was eating slower than usual today. When I came to my senses, I saw that she was focused on holding her chopsticks and slowly picking up the chicken pieces in her bowl and putting them into her mouth, as if she was doing something important.
"Well, Gu Wanlin, you're secretly working hard again, planning to amaze everyone, aren't you? When you were little, didn't you always tell people that you didn't study for exams and then secretly got first place?"
Gu Wanlin scoffed, "Nonsense, who would be impressed by me using children's chopsticks? Go on, why did your colleagues in the next group object to your proposal?"
Who cares about the idiots in the next group? I'm blown away!
We don't always spend weekends together. One day I go back to my parents' house to visit my grandparents, and the other day is the same as before. Sometimes I go out to meet up with friends, most of whom I met in the cultural industry after I started working.
After Gu Wanlin was injured, she avoided her old acquaintances. Apart from Jiang Yu and a few other close friends from her university days, she rarely socialized. The friends she made after studying and working abroad were thousands of miles away and could only call her from time to time to check on her situation.
Actually, I wanted to introduce her to my friends. We've all come together in this industry and persevered through poverty and hardship. Most of us have an idealistic streak and a very free and progressive mindset. They would definitely get along with Gu Wanlin and wouldn't let her feel any different from others because of her physical condition.
But there's no rush, we can take it slowly.
When I returned home on the weekend afternoon, Gu Wanlin was standing and reading. Following Dr. Zhou's advice, she had purchased a new standing frame.
The gentle glow of the setting sun caressed her profile as she quietly gazed at the book on the table before her. Her freshly washed hair, stray strands, bounced wildly in the golden light, making her look like a fluffy little animal.
So cute.
Just like the one I'm holding in my hand.
A friend of mine has a black and white Border Collie named Cai Cai. Occasionally, when she goes on business trips, she asks us to take care of her for a few days. I love dogs, but I've always felt that my irregular work schedule might make things difficult for them, so although I've considered getting one myself over the past few years since I moved out, I've never actually done so. I was happy to help her take care of her for a few days, and after doing so a few times, I actually developed a bond with her. Everyone says Border Collies are smart and know how to behave depending on who they're with, and Cai Cai is very obedient to me.
She came to ask today, saying she really couldn't find anyone else, and asked if she could send her dog to me for the next two weeks, otherwise she'd have to send it to a pet hotel for boarding, as she'd be away on a long business trip. I told her I'd have to wait while I called and asked.
Her eyes gleamed with gossip. "Don't you live alone? Who are you asking?"
I laughed it off and said I'd tell you later.
I called Gu Wanlin and asked if it would be convenient for her to bring the dog to her house. I said the dog has a good temperament and is very easy to take care of once it's been walked enough. If it's not convenient for her, although Cai Cai is cute, I think she's cuter, so I'll just have to make do with Cai Cai.
Gu Wanlin was quite happy to hear this and said, "You brought it?" Then he laughed and said, "Then you'll have to do more cleaning yourself. I can't do it."
Gu Wanlin naturally loves small animals as well. We used to say that we would have cats and dogs when we lived together in the future. I even drew a hand-drawn picture for her. She was lying on the bed, and I was lying on her lap. One of us was reading a book, and the other was playing a game. A cream-colored British Shorthair, a Samoyed, and a black and white Border Collie were lying at our feet. That was our ideal cohabitation life at the time.
Sister Zhang was busy making dinner. The weather was getting warmer now, so I said to Gu Wanlin, "Didn't you leave the house today? Why don't you come downstairs with me to walk the dog?"
Gu Wanlin's physical strength is still recovering. He usually goes out for a walk before or after dinner. If he doesn't have rehabilitation exercises that day, he goes out in a manual wheelchair and moves the wheelchair himself to get some exercise, which makes him feel much better. If he does rehabilitation exercises, he uses an electric wheelchair to avoid overuse of his shoulders and causing injury.
As soon as we stepped outside, Cai Cai tried to run forward like a madwoman, but that's just the Border Collie's nature; it's people's fault for keeping them confined in the city. I used to run with her for a while, and once we reached a safe place to let her off the leash, I'd let her run around freely.
But with Gu Wanlin there, I couldn't leave her alone, so I held onto Cai Cai tightly and refused to let go, letting her walk slowly with us.
Gu Wanlin said it's okay, you don't need to worry about me, you take it for a run.
I planned to take it for a run around the neighborhood first, but after running a few dozen meters, the dog turned around and ran back, circling around Gu Wanlin's wheelchair, and then knelt down on its front paws and lay down beside her.
Gu Wanlin was completely confused. "What's going on?"
I looked embarrassed. "It...it seems to be herding you..."
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