Meng Yang's parents' home was quite far from the affiliated hospital, and it took Meng Yang and Liu Zhi almost an hour to get there.
It was nearly 9:30 when Meng's father came to open the door.
Meng Yang smiled, intending to happily call him "Dad," but her father ignored her and led Liu Zhi inside.
Meng's mother came out of the kitchen, still wearing her apron. Meng Yang called out "Mom," but his mother brushed past him and went straight to Liu Zhi.
"It's good that they've come, why bring anything?" Mencius' mother said.
"Come, come, sit down and rest," said Meng's father.
Meng Yangli stood at a distance, watching the three of them exchange pleasantries, and felt out of place.
After settling Liu Zhi in, Meng's father walked up to Meng Yang and said, "You, come and help me pick the vegetables."
Meng Yang choked up, and was about to say that he was biased when his father added another sentence.
"Never mind, you can sit with Xiao Liu for a while."
“What’s with that expression? Don’t be upset,” Meng’s father said.
Meng Yang: "I'd be happy to."
Liu Zhi wasn't very good at getting along with elders, and sat somewhat awkwardly in a corner of the sofa.
“My dad told me to stay with you.” Meng Yang sat down next to Liu Zhi. “He originally told me to go and pick vegetables.”
"Should I go help?" Liu Zhi asked.
Meng Yang laughed, "Relax, relax. Your posture right now is like that of a primary school student."
Upon hearing Meng Yang's words, Liu Zhi sat up even straighter.
"My phone is vibrating," Meng Yang gestured to Liu Zhi with his eyes.
Liu Zhi took out her cell phone from her pocket.
The call was from her grandmother, and Liu Zhi answered immediately.
"Xiao Zhi, are you busy?" Grandma's voice trembled slightly.
"Grandma, I'm off today, I'm not busy," Liu Zhi said.
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Liu Zhi waited anxiously.
Grandma rarely called Liu Zhi on her own initiative, but Liu Zhi's intuition told her that something might have happened at home.
"Have you called your father these past few days?" Grandma asked slowly.
To her shame, Liu Zhi hadn't spoken to her parents on the phone for a long time. Their communication relied entirely on Liu Yi.
"No," Liu Zhi replied truthfully. "What happened to my dad?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone again. Liu Zhi subconsciously connected her grandmother's call with Liu Yi's last call, and a key word popped into her mind—fracture.
"Did my dad break a bone?" Liu Zhi asked, frowning.
"Did Xiao Yi tell you that?" Grandma asked.
“I guessed it. He said his classmate had a broken forearm, and what he said didn’t make sense.” Liu Zhi curled her fingers on her knee. “I felt something was wrong at the time.”
"He got into a fight with someone over a space a few days ago," Grandma said, pausing frequently. "He broke his arm."
"The doctor told him to rest, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on practicing driving, which made it even worse."
Every year during winter and summer vacations, driving lessons are in high demand. However, there are few driving spaces nearby, and instructors from several driving schools often compete for space, sometimes resulting in verbal altercations and sometimes physical fights.
After hearing what her grandmother said, Liu Zhi could guess about 70-80% of the truth.
"I asked them how they were doing, but they wouldn't tell me," Grandma said. "Is it really that serious right now?"
Liu Zhi lowered her eyes, unsure of what to say.
"I can't read, I don't understand anything, you should call and persuade your father." Grandma hesitated, "Your parents... miss you very much."
Liu Zhi responded softly, "I'll call him right now."
Liu Zhi called her father two or three times, but no one answered. She also called her mother, but no one answered. Liu Yi, a senior in high school, had a heavy workload and had to attend classes on weekends, so he simply turned off his phone.
"Why isn't she answering the phone?" Meng Yang couldn't help but feel anxious for Liu Zhi.
She had lived in Yancheng for a year. Liu Zhi and her grandmother spoke slowly, and she could understand what they were saying.
"Has anyone else been contacted?" Meng Yang asked.
Liu Zhi shook her head and dialed her mother's number again.
The phone rang a few times before finally connecting.
"Hello."
Liu's mother's voice came over.
The last time Liu Zhi spoke to her mother on the phone was last year. Halfway through the conversation, Liu Zhi wanted to hang up.
"Is my dad's arm broken?"
Meng Yang got up and opened the door from the living room to the dining room.
After Liu Zhi finished her phone call with her grandmother, Meng Yangcai remembered her sense of privacy. She closed the door, leaving the living room to Liu Zhi, and went to the kitchen to help her father prepare vegetables.
"Didn't I tell you to stay with Xiao Liu? Why did you come here?" Meng's father looked at her.
"Liu Zhi is on the phone. I'll help you pick out some vegetables for a bit, then we'll go back later." Meng Yang bent down, pulled over a small stool, and sat down next to his father.
Chapter 36 I Want to Kiss You
Meng Yang was somewhat absent-minded, and he plucked off several good vegetable leaves in succession.
Meng's father clicked his tongue twice.
"What's wrong?" Meng Yang paused. "What are you trying to say?"
“Look at other people’s children,” Mr. Meng sighed. “Then look at ours.”
"Others know to call their parents, what about you? They're ambitious and want to be promoted to attending physician, what about you?"
Meng Yang kept his head down, picking at his vegetables, not really wanting to talk to his father.
"Sigh..." Meng's father sighed again.
"What is it now?" Meng Yang asked, looking at him.
"I wish Xiao Liu were a boy."
Meng Yang's heart tightened; she felt somewhat guilty when this topic came up.
"I'll go see if Liu Zhi has finished his call." With that, Meng Yang got up and quickly slipped into the living room.
Liu Zhi was looking at the calendar.
"Your father?" Meng Yang observed Liu Zhi's expression.
"It's a fracture of the radius and ulna with significant displacement; it's quite serious," Liu Zhi said. "Surgery has already been performed."
"Mengyang, I want to..."
"I'm fine, you can go back now," Meng Yang said quickly.
When she saw Liu Zhi looking at the calendar, she guessed what her next plan was.
"Take advantage of this holiday," Meng Yang said, "to have a good time with your family."
Liu Zhi's gaze fell on the string of dates; this was a grand reunion, yet also a brief separation.
Although Meng Yang was reluctant to part with him, he could understand Liu Zhi's feelings and thoughts.
"What date are you planning to leave?" Meng Yang asked.
“We’ll discuss when we leave when we get home, but I’ll try my best to be back before the 6th of next month,” Liu Zhi replied.
Next month, on the sixth, is Meng Yang's birthday. Hearing Liu Zhi's words, Meng Yang pursed his lips, feeling a warmth in his heart.
"Let's go," Meng Yang said, pulling Liu Zhi along. "Let's go have lunch first. My mom still needs to make a soup."
Liu Zhi held Meng Yang's fingers tightly, reluctant to let go.
At the dining table, Mencius' father was pouring wine.
"Little Liu, try the medicinal wine I made." Father Meng went to the other end of the table and poured two glasses.
“Your drink doesn’t taste good.” Meng Yang quickly took away the empty paper cup. “Patients should drink bone broth.”
"Medicated wine! Medicated wine!" Meng's father clicked his tongue and placed the glass bottle on the table. "Don't you know what kind of person your father is?"
"I don't know." Meng Yang pulled Liu Zhi to sit away from Meng's father's seat.
Mencius' mother brought over a large bowl of bone broth and used her elbow to push Mencius' father aside.
"They don't even know how to serve me soup; they're busy preparing the medicinal wine." Meng's mother glanced at Meng's father.
Mencius' father chuckled.
Liu Zhi had little appetite and ate very little.
Meng's father rearranged the dishes several times, pushing Meng's mother's signature dishes to Liu Zhi's side.
"Don't be shy, Xiao Liu, make yourself at home," Meng's father said cheerfully.
"Dad, you eat yours, don't push the food over our side," Meng Yang said.
“I’m not pushing it to you, I’m pushing it to Xiao Liu.” Meng’s father pointed with the end of his chopsticks to the dish closest to Liu Zhi. “Xiao Liu, try this. It’s your aunt’s specialty.”
The steamed fish that Meng's mother made was very delicious. Liu Zhi took a bite and praised it several times.
Meng Yang placed a large piece of fish belly on Liu Zhi's plate, saying, "My mom's steamed fish is just as good as any restaurant's. Have some more."
"Come, come, give me Liu's bowl. This bone broth was specially made for you. Try it and see how it tastes." Mother Meng held a spoon, waiting for Liu Zhi to hand her the bowl.
All eyes at the table were on Liu Zhi, and their gazes met, making Liu Zhi's ears turn red.
Liu Zhi was worried about her father, but she didn't want to leave a bad impression on Meng Yang's parents, so she spent most of the second half of the time sipping bone broth.
After the meal, Meng Yang and Liu Zhi helped wash the dishes, while Meng's father and mother wiped the table.