STT – Chapter 36

You need to be mentally prepared.

Jiang Huaixi in the hospital intermittently burned for two days, repeatedly, and by the fourth day, her body temperature finally stabilized to normal. She had always been concerned about what Mother Lu had said and wanted to have a chat with her. Jiang Huaixi was not clear about what exactly Mother Lu wanted to discuss, but she had a general guess that it was not just simple idle chat to relieve boredom, and probably related to her rejecting Zizheng a few days ago. Thinking of this, her eyes dimmed, she painfully closed her eyes, and gradually lost her spirit.

Near noon, Jiang Huaixi got out of bed, changed her clothes, tidied herself up a bit, and then left the ward with her bag, preparing to leave the hospital. Jiang Wang came to do her rounds, was surprised, and wanted to stop Jiang Huaixi, but Jiang Huaixi calmly said, “Didn’t you say my fever has subsided, and I can be discharged in two days? Today happens to be the second day.”

Jiang Wang, with one hand in her white coat and the other holding a book she brought from Jiang Huaixi’s home to relieve her boredom, frowned at her and said unhappily, “You are the most uncooperative patient I have ever seen.”

Jiang Huaixi reached out and took the book Jiang Wang brought for her, smiled faintly, and said, “Thank you, you are the most considerate doctor I have ever seen.”

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow and said, “So? Are you moved enough to stay?”

Jiang Huaixi turned and left, leaving her a carefree back view: “No, I still want to leave. I wish Dr. Jiang a pleasant day at work.”

Jiang Wang, with both hands in the pockets of her white coat, leaned against the wall, watching Jiang Huaixi’s back, and helplessly shook her head.

At noon, Jiang Huaixi ate at her own home, pondering that Mother Lu should not have started her nap yet, so she called Mother Lu, telling her that she planned to come over for dinner in the evening and asked if Mother Lu would host her.

Mother Lu naturally agreed happily, smiling and replying: “Of course, I will host you, Auntie has been looking forward to it for many days, and it’s something I can’t wait for. In the evening, I will make eel soup that you like, the other day I saw you didn’t look well, so it’s just right to nourish your body.”

Jiang Huaixi was surprised by Mother Lu’s keen observation and responded somewhat emotionally: “Okay, thank you, Auntie.”

Mother Lu said lovingly, “What are you saying thank you for? We are family, no need for such formalities.”

At around three in the afternoon, Jiang Huaixi applied light makeup to cover her sickly appearance from the past few days and brought some stomach-nourishing nutritional products to visit Mother Lu. She thought that going at this time, she could also help Mother Lu with preparing dinner.

When she arrived at Mother Lu’s doorstep, Jiang Huaixi reached out to press the doorbell, only to find that the door was ajar. Jiang Huaixi felt a bit puzzled; Mother Lu usually lived alone and for safety reasons, she always kept the door closed. She frowned, wondering if the door was left open specifically for her.

Jiang Huaixi gently pushed open the ajar door, but before she could step inside, she saw Mother Lu lying on the floor at the entrance, with both hands still holding two large bags full of groceries.

Jiang Huaixi’s heart almost skipped a beat, and she immediately panicked. She stepped in quickly and squatted beside Mother Lu, gently turning her body to lay her flat. Her usual calm tone was lost, replaced with panic and urgency as she called out: “Auntie, Auntie, what’s wrong? Auntie…”

But Mother Lu just lay there motionless, her face pale, breathing rapid and weak.

Jiang Huaixi’s trembling hands fumbled two or three times before she finally retrieved her phone from her bag. With one hand, she pressed the speed dial to call Jiang Wang’s phone, while the other hand shakily loosened the buttons around Mother Lu’s collar, hoping to make her breathing a bit easier.

The phone rang for no more than three seconds before it was answered.

Before Jiang Wang could speak, Jiang Huaixi urgently instructed, “Jiang Wang, listen to me. I’m at Zizheng’s mother’s place right now. You came here last time, remember the way, right?”

Jiang Wang responded steadily, “Yes, I remember.”

Jiang Huaixi impatiently instructed further, “Auntie has fainted. You must immediately have the hospital send an ambulance here, and have Director Wang prepare the emergency room.”

Jiang Wang did not hesitate at all and immediately responded, “Okay, right away.” Then, she hung up the phone.

Jiang Huaixi hung up the phone, lowered her head, and softly called out “Auntie” twice, but Mother Lu still did not respond. She carefully laid Mother Lu’s head down, ran into Mother Lu’s bedroom, and brought out a blanket and a pillow. She covered Mother Lu with the blanket and placed the pillow under her feet.

Afterward, Jiang Huaixi knelt beside Mother Lu, anxiously waiting for the ambulance to arrive while continuously calling Lu Zizheng’s phone. However, each long wait was met with the same automated response: “Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable…” Jiang Huaixi made dozens of calls, all with the same result. She bit her lip, her eyes reddening with frustration.

In less than ten minutes, Jiang Wang arrived with the paramedics in a hurry.

Jiang Huaixi watched as the medical personnel carefully lifted Mother Lu onto the stretcher, still kneeling on the ground. Her legs were numb and weak, making it difficult for her to stand up, and her face was pale, devoid of any color.

The medical personnel carried Mother Lu ahead. Jiang Wang stayed behind and turned back to help Jiang Huaixi. With Jiang Wang’s support, Jiang Huaixi finally stood up. As soon as she straightened her body, she began to walk quickly towards the door, trying to keep up with everyone. However, she felt dizzy and her body swayed back and forth.

Jiang Wang firmly steadied Jiang Huaixi and asked her with concern, “Are you okay?”

Jiang Huaixi closed her eyes, took a deep breath with her head tilted back, then opened her eyes and shook her head, softly saying, “I’m fine, let’s catch up.”

In the ambulance, Jiang Huaixi sat beside Mother Lu and made several more calls to Lu Zizheng, but it was still met with that infuriating system prompt.

For the first time, Jiang Huaixi was this angry with Lu Zizheng, so angry that she almost wanted to throw her phone away.

She squatted down, leaned close to Mother Lu’s ear, and softly pleaded with Mother Lu: “Auntie, you must be okay, Zizheng is still waiting for you to welcome her back…”

“Auntie, Zizheng will be back soon, you must get better quickly. You don’t want to worry her, right…”

“Auntie, you can’t bear to leave Zizheng, can you? You said you would never leave her…”

“Auntie, Zizheng only has you, she only trusts you. You can’t bear to see her sad, right? Auntie, I beg you…” By the end, her voice had already turned into a faint sob.

Jiang Huaixi was all too aware of how important Mother Lu was in Lu Zizheng’s heart. During those years when Lu Zizheng was struggling, the only pillar that kept her going and staying in this world was Mother Lu. Now, if even Mother Lu were to leave, she couldn’t imagine how Lu Zizheng’s world would collapse and crumble.

Looking at the weak and unconscious Mother Lu lying there, Jiang Huaixi felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife, unable to bear it. She couldn’t imagine how Zizheng would face such a painful and dreadful reality.

Outside the emergency room, Jiang Huaixi held the critical condition notice in her hand, recalling Director Wang’s recent words: “Huaixi, the patient has a perforated stomach¹ with massive bleeding and signs of long-term medication use. Preliminary diagnosis is advanced-stage stomach cancer. You need to be mentally prepared.” Her large tears finally rolled down.

She felt deeply guilty and saddened. When Mother Lu had stomach pains earlier, she should have insisted, along with Lu Zizheng, that she go to the hospital for a checkup. How could she have ignored it? In her heart, she apologized repeatedly to Lu Zizheng for not taking good care of Mother Lu, and to Mother Lu for not discovering it earlier, letting her bear this painful secret alone. She felt so foolish.

Jiang Huaixi stopped her tears, held back her guilt and sorrow, and once again took out her phone to call Lu Zizheng. But it was still that cold voice: “Hello, the number you have dialed…” Before the system could finish, Jiang Huaixi threw the phone out in anger. Her pale face turned red with rage, and her clenched fists made a cracking sound.

Jiang Wang, worried about Jiang Huaixi’s health, accompanied Jiang Huaixi outside the emergency room. After receiving the notification, she went to the office to get heart-saving pills for Jiang Huaixi. Seeing Jiang Huaixi in a fit of rage, Jiang Wang paused her steps, let out a heavy sigh, walked over to Jiang Huaixi, and handed her the pills.

Jiang Huaixi resisted, trying to push her hand away without even looking.

Jiang Wang said coldly, “Do you want to be the next one pushed into the emergency room?”

Jiang Huaixi’s face instantly turned ashen. She grabbed the pills and swallowed them in one gulp. Then, she collapsed onto the chair, covering her eyes with her hands, and hoarsely murmured, “How can she not answer the phone, how can she…”

Jiang Wang saw crystal-clear tears slowly sliding down through Jiang Huaixi’s fingers.

Jiang Wang slightly lowered her eyes, took out her own phone, and handed it to Jiang Huaixi, saying, “Use my phone, try calling again.”

Jiang Huaixi was silent for a while, sniffed, reached out to take the phone, and dialed that number she knew so well she could recite it backward. This time, the system prompt finally changed to: “Hello, the number you have dialed is powered off.”

She was unwilling to give up, always hoping that Lu Zizheng would turn on her phone the next time she called. So, like a wind-up robot, she kept repeating the process: redialing, hanging up, redialing, hanging up… She didn’t know how many times she repeated it, but eventually, Jiang Wang couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She snatched the phone and advised, “Wait a bit before trying again.”

Unexpectedly, just as the phone reached Jiang Wang’s hand, it suddenly started vibrating.

Jiang Huaixi immediately sprang to her feet, snatched the phone from Jiang Wang, and answered, asking, “Zizheng?”

On the other end of the line, the voice she had longed to hear responded, “Yes.”

For a moment, she found herself unable to speak.

What should she do? How could her Zizheng bear this news? She thought of Lu Zizheng’s tearful face and despairing eyes, and it made her heart ache and filled her with fear.

But, in the end, she managed to steady her voice and tell her, “Zizheng, are you still in Japan? Come back first. Auntie, she is critically ill and is being resuscitated right now. The doctor has issued a critical condition notice…”

There was a terrifying silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, then she heard Lu Zizheng’s barely audible voice drifting through: “Wait for me, I’m coming right away.” After that, the call was disconnected.

Jiang Huaixi weakly held the phone in one hand, pinching her nose and taking deep breaths to stop herself from crying.

Finally, the door of the emergency room opened. Director Wang came out, and Mother Lu was wheeled out and sent to the intensive care unit. Jiang Huaixi hurriedly got up and went to meet them.

Director Wang reached out and patted Jiang Huaixi’s shoulder, sighing, “I’ve temporarily saved her, but I’m afraid… Hey, where are her family members?”

Jiang Huaixi dejectedly lowered her head and replied softly, “They’re on their way.”

Director Wang shook his head and sighed, “You all need to be mentally prepared…”

LP: Re-translated on August 22, 2024

1. Perforated stomach: A medical condition where there is a hole in the stomach wall, leading to severe complications.