Chapter 204 - 203: A Sense of Loss

Chapter 204: Chapter 203: A Sense of Loss

Hailing a taxi was inconvenient near Zijin Garden District, so Yu Zhiming and Gu Qingning scanned the codes for a couple of shared bikes.

The two of them had a relatively smooth ride all the way to Huashan Hospital, then hurried to the private special care room where Zhang Bai’s mother was staying.

Entering the room, Yu Zhiming saw his Fourth Sister and Zhang Bai standing on either side of the hospital bed.

Lying on the bed was a woman, so thin she looked gaunt, with salt-and-pepper hair. It was impossible to tell her exact age.

Yu Xiangwan, with tears in her eyes, was holding the woman’s left hand.

The woman’s right hand was held tightly by Zhang Bai on the other side of the bed.

Yu Zhiming noted that the woman still had a heartbeat and was breathing, but she was in a coma.

One look at the vital signs on the monitor told him that Zhang Bai’s mother was never going to wake up.

She was in her final moments, her body sustained only by a ventilator and an IV drip.

Yu Zhiming looked at Zhang Bai.

He hadn’t seen him in two or three weeks. With red, swollen eyes and a face etched with grief and exhaustion, Zhang Bai looked as if he had aged a decade.

Yu Zhiming said nothing, simply moving to his Fourth Sister’s side and taking her other hand.

Gu Qingning stood on Yu Xiangwan’s other side.

Zhang Bai raised a hand to roughly wipe his eyes, sniffed, and said, "Dr. Yu, Gu Qingning, thank you for coming to see my mom off."

"Thank you!"

Yu Zhiming replied politely, "Don’t mention it. We had to come. It’s just a shame we were late."

He looked at his Fourth Sister, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Yu Xiangwan leaned closer to him and whispered, "She waited for me to get here. We spoke for a bit, and then she fell unconscious."

After a brief pause, she added with an embarrassed look, "Um, Fifth Brother, I promised her."

"I agreed to be Zhang Bai’s girlfriend."

This...

’In this day and age, are we really doing the whole deathbed-request-to-take-care-of-my-son thing?’

Yu Zhiming shot a hostile glare at Zhang Bai.

But Zhang Bai was overcome with sorrow, his gaze fixed blankly on his mother on the bed.

"Mom, I’ll take care of myself. I’ll get married, have children, and work hard. You won’t have to worry about me anymore."

Zhang Bai then looked up at Yu Xiangwan and said pleadingly, "Xiang Wan, I have Mom’s burial clothes ready."

"Could you..."

Yu Xiangwan cut him off without the slightest hesitation. "Brother Zhang, I’ll dress her."

Yu Zhiming sighed, gave his Fourth Sister’s hand a firm squeeze, and led Gu Qingning out of the room.

"Sigh. My sister’s really decided on that guy, Zhang Bai."

Gu Qingning guessed, "Because of the burial clothes?"

Yu Zhiming hummed in agreement. "It’s a custom where I’m from. Only the children or daughters-in-law are supposed to dress the deceased."

Gu Qingning said, "Oh," then added softly, "But haven’t you guys always been pushing Sister Xiang Wan to get married?"

"I think Zhang Bai is a pretty great guy. He was so devoted to his mother; his character is beyond reproach."

"I heard he used to be a mid-level manager at a decent-sized company, so he must be competent."

"And he’s not bad-looking or short, either."

Yu Zhiming said slowly, "I’m just worried that my sister is getting into a one-sided thing. She saw how pitiful Zhang Bai was and offered to help, and now she’s gotten herself stuck."

"Once some time passes and Zhang Bai gets over the grief of losing his mother, he might not reciprocate her feelings."

Gu Qingning’s eyes widened. "He’d better not! We’ll break his legs together if he does."

Yu Zhiming shot her a look. "You can’t force matters of the heart."

Gu Qingning huffed. "Sister Xiang Wan is beautiful and kind. And with your help, her little short-term rental business is sure to take off."

"Where else would he find such a great wife? Zhang Bai would have to be blind not to return her affection."

Yu Zhiming let out a soft sigh. "I hope you’re right and everything works out."

"It’s so rare for Fourth Sister to fall for someone. I really don’t want to see her get hurt."

"And when my Fourth Sister cries, she’s impossible to console!"

"How is she impossible to console?" Gu Qingning’s inner gossip flared up.

Yu Zhiming shot her a look and ignored the bait.

After waiting in the hallway for over half an hour, Yu Xiangwan called them back into the room.

Zhang Bai’s mother was now neatly dressed in a new set of burial clothes. Even her complexion looked much more peaceful.

Zhang Bai gazed at his mother on the bed, his face a mask of grief and profound reluctance.

His right hand rested on the ventilator’s power switch, trembling so violently he couldn’t bring himself to press it.

Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but speak up. "Zhang Bai, you know what these past few days have been like for her."

"She’s just been suffering, enduring it day by day."

"Now, her time has come."

"Let’s not prolong her suffering. Let her go in peace."

Yu Xiangwan went to Zhang Bai’s side and took his left hand, her expression full of concern.

Zhang Bai looked at Yu Zhiming and then at Yu Xiangwan. He gave his mother one last, lingering look, took a sharp breath, and pressed the switch on the ventilator.

As the ventilator shut down, the red line on the heart monitor, indicating her heartbeat, fluttered erratically before quickly flattening into a straight line.

Yu Zhiming stepped forward and turned off the heart monitor, silencing the incessant beeping of the alarm.

"Xiang Wan, I don’t have a mom anymore."

"Xiang Wan, I’m a kid without a mom now..."

Zhang Bai could no longer contain his emotions. He turned, wrapped his arms around Yu Xiangwan, and began to sob.

At first, he tried to stifle his sobs, but it wasn’t long before he broke down into loud, unrestrained wails.

It was so loud it made Yu Zhiming’s ears hurt.

He turned to Zhang Bai’s mother on the bed, gave three respectful bows, and left the room.

Gu Qingning followed his example, also bowing three times before leaving the room to catch up with Yu Zhiming.

"Zhiming, are we just leaving? Shouldn’t there be a lot more to do?"

Yu Zhiming didn’t break his stride. "Next, he’ll either take her to the funeral home for cremation or transport the body back to his hometown."

"Zhang Bai should have it all arranged. As long as my sister is there with him, it’s fine. We don’t need to get involved."

Gu Qingning said, "Oh," and quickened her pace to keep up with Yu Zhiming, falling silent.

After the whole ordeal, by the time Yu Zhiming and Gu Qingning got back to their place in Zijin Garden, it was already past midnight.

The next morning at six, Yu Zhiming got out of bed on schedule. When he left his bedroom, he saw that the Murphy bed hadn’t been pulled down.

He knew his Fourth Sister hadn’t come home all night, and a sense of melancholy washed over him.

Yu Zhiming had always been telling his Fourth Sister to hurry up, find a boyfriend, and get married.

But now that she actually had, Yu Zhiming felt a pang of unease.

They were twins who had grown up inseparable.

In Yu Zhiming’s memory, it had always been his Fourth Sister’s soft little hand holding his. Whenever they went somewhere unfamiliar, or a place crowded with people and cars; every single day on the way to and from school; during breaks and playtime.

She held his hand like that until he was fourteen, until his vision cleared and he could walk on his own.

’From now on, his Fourth Sister’s hand would be holding someone else’s...’

Suddenly, a warmth enveloped Yu Zhiming’s hand. A small, soft, warm hand had taken hold of his left one.

He tried to shake it off but couldn’t. Turning his head, he saw Gu Qingning in cartoon pajamas, her hair a mess.

Gu Qingning gave him a mischievous grin.

"I know you’re sad about someone stealing Sister Xiang Wan away. You’re twins, after all. Your bond is different."

"But this day was always going to come."

"Zhiming, I’ll take care of you, just like your sister did."

Yu Zhiming huffed. "Talk is cheap. Why don’t you start by making a decent breakfast today..."

At seven-thirty, Yu Zhiming came out of his bedroom and couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sight of the breakfast on the table.

Dumplings, boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, and seaweed soup made with the dumpling water.

Gu Qingning laughed sheepishly. "I wasn’t prepared today. I promise I won’t be so half-hearted tomorrow."

"Let’s just make do for today..."

Academician Tan Ying’s international medical conference was scheduled to start at ten in the morning, so Yu Zhiming went to the Qi Yue Medical Research Center first.

The moment he stepped into the main office, Qiao Lei informed him that Rao Yi’s friend was already waiting for him in an examination room.

Yu Zhiming checked the time. It was only eight-thirty in the morning, which was plenty of time to see a patient before his rounds.

He went to the examination room and saw a man with long hair tied back in a small ponytail, giving him an artistic air.

However, the man was leaning on a single crutch and walked with a limp, which slightly spoiled the image.

Yu Zhiming had already learned that the man’s name was Zhang Yue. He was thirty-two and skilled in violin performance and composition.

Zhang Yue told Yu Zhiming that he had injured his left leg when he accidentally crashed his motorcycle into a lamppost.

"Sister Yi holds you in the highest regard, Dr. Yu."

"She said your diagnostic skills are second to none, and that my case would be child’s play for you..."

Yu Zhiming wasn’t in a good mood today. He gave Zhang Yue a flat look.

"Stop talking. Just lie down on the bed."

Zhang Yue could clearly sense that this ridiculously young doctor was in a foul mood.

He shut his mouth and obediently lay down on the examination table. A moment later, he felt a hand press down on his left knee...

Two or three minutes later, Yu Zhiming finished his examination.

"You do have bone fragments in your left knee joint. Three small pieces, fairly minuscule, and they’re embedded in the cartilage."

"I can remove them with a puncture needle."

"It’s going to hurt a bit..."

Zhang Yue said quickly, "Dr. Yu, I’m not afraid of pain. I know it’s better to get it over with quickly."

Yu Zhiming gave a slight smile and had Qiao Lei fetch the puncture needle.

With three swift punctures, Yu Zhiming neatly extracted three tiny bone fragments, each about half the size of a grain of rice.

Seeing Zhang Yue beaded with sweat from the pain gave Yu Zhiming a sense of grim satisfaction.

"Zhang Yue, you also have four small bone fragments in your left calf. I can take those out for you as well."

Zhang Yue asked timidly, "Is that going to hurt a bit, too?"

Yu Zhiming shook his head. "That will require local anesthesia."

Zhang Yue let out a long sigh of relief. "Okay, great. Might as well get it all done at once. I’ll leave it in your capable hands, Dr. Yu."

By the time Yu Zhiming finished with Zhang Yue and completed his rounds with Professor Qi Yue, it was already nine-forty.

He rushed over to the Liver Research Center and saw Academician Tan Ying in front of the main building, leading a group of ten or twenty people as they chatted enthusiastically with two or three foreigners.

Next to the foreigners, Yu Zhiming also spotted a familiar face.

Dr. Qiu Yi...