87. Let’s Live Together
After Xu Wenqiang calmed down, she sat in the hospital corridor with Xiao Cheng, quietly watching the doctors, nurses, patients and their families coming and going, without speaking for a long time.
Growing up, she rarely visited the hospital. Whenever she had a headache or fever, she and Xu Yanmei would go to Grandpa Li's clinic to get some medicine. Sometimes, if the medicine didn't work, a few days of IV drips would bring her back to health.
Xu Yanmei said that the hospital is an unlucky place and you should not go there unless necessary.
Xu Wenqiang also disliked hospitals. Everyone there looked like they were having a hard time. The doctors and nurses who weren't sick had an "I'm busy, don't bother me" look. The sick patients and their families all looked worried. It seemed like anyone who entered the hospital would be assimilated, becoming someone who found life difficult.
Living is hard... Xu Wenqiang thought to herself. But there's also a saying: it's better to just live. But Xu Yanmei was being shameless enough, but she still couldn't find a way out.
"Xu Wenqiang, what are you thinking about?" Xiao Cheng beside her asked her.
Xu Wenqiang thought for a moment and replied, "I want to live well."
Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang beside him. Tears still stained her face, but her eyes were filled with a murderous determination. She gritted her teeth as she said the words "live on." She would fight anyone who dared to say "no."
Seeing Xu Wenqiang like this, Xiao Cheng felt a pang of pain in his heart. Just as he was about to say something, Xu Wenqiang turned around and looked at Xiao Cheng, "We must live well together."
Xiao Cheng's heart stopped for a moment, and Xu Wenqiang said, "We."
When his heart started beating again, Xiao Cheng said, "You said it, don't even think of abandoning me."
"Don't worry—"
As soon as Xu Wenqiang finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the ICU, and doctors and nurses hurried in.
Xu Wenqiang grabbed a nurse and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The patient is awake." The nurse said quickly, then walked into the intensive care unit in small steps.
After Xu Yanmei woke up, she fell into a coma again, but her life was no longer in danger for the time being.
The doctor said she had a brain tumor, which caused her to suffer from frequent headaches and difficulty sleeping at night. This severe blow to the head had obviously made her condition worse.
Xu Wenqiang was stunned when she heard this. Xu Yanmei had indeed been having trouble sleeping the past few days, but she had assumed it was because of Chen Long...
"Family members, please consider carefully whether to go through the formalities and make a decision as soon as possible." The doctor said this in a businesslike manner and turned to leave.
"I've thought it through." Xu Wenqiang's words stopped the doctor in his tracks.
"Let's do the surgery," Xu Wenqiang said, looking at the doctor. Xu Yanmei hadn't gotten away with it, but she decided to try too.
"The surgery is not a small sum." The doctor's face remained expressionless. "Is there any other adult in your family who can make this decision?"
"There are only my mother and I in our family, no other adults." Xu Wenqiang said with a resolute look, "My decision is to have the surgery."
"Okay, then I'll arrange the surgery as soon as possible." The doctor turned and left.
The policewoman, watching from the sidelines, shouldn't have said much. But she looked at Xu Wenqiang as if she were looking at her own little daughter, so she couldn't help but say, "You're still a high school student, and you'll need money later. The doctor also said that surgery has risks, so you need to think about yourself and leave yourself a way out."
"Thank you for your kindness." Xu Wenqiang thanked him sincerely, and then said, "There are only my mother and I in our family. I am a student and have been studying all the time, so my mother earns all the money for our family. My mother is sick now, so the money she earns should naturally be used to treat her illness first. As for me——"
Xu Wenqiang smiled and said, "I can always support myself."
"But if the operation fails—"
"That means we'll lose both our money and our lives." Xu Wenqiang remained calm. "There's nothing we can do about it."
"I have children too, and I'm a mother too. If it were me, I would definitely not agree with your decision," the policewoman said earnestly. "As a mother myself, I don't think your mother would agree to take this risk. She's your mother, and she's definitely going to consider you."
Xu Wenqiang looked at the policewoman, and her eyes softened for a moment. This must be someone else's mother. Everything starts from the child and everything is considered for the child.
But when she spoke, her eyes were already firm again: "Auntie, although the title of 'mother' is great, 'mother' is also a person. She is just like her 'child', born as a human being, and both can live for themselves. She doesn't have to sacrifice everything for her 'child'. So my mother didn't need to cut off her own life just to leave a way out for me. No matter what, she should have hoped to live, even if the hope was slim."
The policewoman was speechless. If the girl before her could say such a thing, then perhaps her mother really wanted to live for herself more.
Xiao Cheng watched Xu Wenqiang from the side, and recalled her words, "Let's live well together." This phrase, which seemed like a slogan, was indeed a respect for "survival" for Xu Wenqiang.
"Auntie, I'm fine here. You should go back and celebrate the New Year." Xu Wenqiang said.
"Wait a moment." The policewoman went to the nurse's station and handed Xu Wenqiang a note when she came back. "If you need anything, you can call me."
After the policewoman left, Xu Wenqiang glanced at the note, wrote down the name on it, and then handed it to Xiao Cheng, "Please keep it for me."
"Why give it to me?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself," Xu Wenqiang said, watching the policewoman leave. "She's her daughter's mother, but she has nothing to do with me. I left this note with me, and I'm afraid I'll go look for her one day."
"Then why don't you just throw it away?"
"After all, this is a kindness, I really can't bear to part with it."
"Okay, I'll keep it for you. When the day comes that you really need her, remember to look for me."
"You keep it well."
Xu Wenqiang looked at the note reluctantly. Xiao Cheng wanted to return the note to her in a joking manner, but Xu Wenqiang immediately looked away.
"Xu Wenqiang, I have to go back." Although Xiao Cheng was worried about leaving Xu Wenqiang alone, his mother had already called him several times, and later his father also called him, so he knew he had to leave.
"You can go back." Xu Wenqiang wanted to thank Xiao Cheng, but after thinking about it, she swallowed the "thank you" on her lips and instead clasped her hands together, shook them at Xiao Cheng and said, "Xiao Cheng, Happy New Year!"
Xiao Cheng smiled slightly, stepped forward and hugged Xu Wenqiang into his arms, "Xu Wenqiang, Happy New Year!"
Xu Wenqiang buried her face in Xiao Cheng's arms, her nose sore. Afraid she would cry again, she quickly pushed Xiao Cheng away, turned around and said in a muffled voice, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Xiao Cheng also left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
