Los secretos del cielo, temporada 4

Capítulo 12

What's the couple doing now? Have they had another child? If they have a new child, why would they be in the mood to do something as boring as a "death schedule"?

Li Huizhen hoped that dawn would come quickly; she was determined to find them!

Now, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable all over, burning up with fever, which must have been caused by some kind of stimulation during the day. She took cephalexin and lay down in bed. After a while, she felt even worse, so she got up and took paracetamol, which finally made her drift off to sleep.

Li Hui woke up at around 9 a.m. the next day.

She was awakened by the doorbell ringing repeatedly. Zhang Lili and Director Chen came to see her, and after checking her temperature, they took her to a nearby hospital.

When Director Chen arrived at work in the morning, he noticed that Li Hui was absent again, without even asking for leave, and he felt something was wrong. He found Zhang Lili to ask her, and when she mentioned hearing on the phone last night that Li Hui had a fever, the two of them immediately went out and headed straight to Li Hui's house.

After receiving an intravenous infusion of cephalosporin solution for over an hour, Li Hui slept for just over an hour. When she woke up, the doctor examined her and discovered that the blisters that had formed during the infrared therapy had ruptured and become infected.

Zhang Lili wasn't by the bedside, so Director Chen immediately asked her, "Did you expose yourself to too much infrared heat?"

"How did you know?" Li Hui asked curiously.

"She called me that day and said you were having physical therapy. Sigh, she meant well but messed things up," Director Chen complained.

"Don't tell Lily. She wasn't there; I just fell asleep while I was grilling..."

"The light was probably too low, causing it to get this hot..." Director Chen suddenly fell silent. Zhang Lili rushed in: "Director Chen, I have to go back now. Thank you for your help here." She then turned to Li Hui, "Take good care of yourself, don't rush back to work!"

Watching Zhang Lili leave, Director Chen sighed, "First, treat the inflammation. This can't be rushed. Don't rush back to work recently. Wang Yang is coming back soon, so stay home and do some preparations. How can we welcome guests returning from abroad like this?"

"Director, please don't be ridiculous. What kind of guest is he?"

"It's been two years, hasn't it? That's quite a while!"

"Time flies."

"Yes, you've been coming to the hospital for three years now, and I'm getting old too."

“Director,” Li Hui suddenly remembered something, but didn’t know how to say it for a moment, “you…have been working at the Women and Children’s Hospital for many years now, haven’t you?”

"I'm ashamed to say, it's been over twenty years. I haven't achieved anything." Director Chen suddenly blushed slightly, like a shy young man.

"Then, do you still remember the patients in our department?" At this moment, Li Hui suddenly perked up, staring expectantly at Director Chen, not at all like a patient.

"How can I remember so many? I'm lucky if I can still vaguely recall a few. Over the years, I've treated far too many patients."

"What about the last two or three years? Remember?" Li Hui asked impatiently again.

Whom are you trying to find out about?

"Oh, it's nothing." She was really unwilling to stop there. "I wanted to ask, three years ago, a patient gave birth in our hospital, and then..." She didn't know how to say it.

Which instance are you referring to? Was it an important case?

"No...sigh, I can't really explain it." She closed her tired eyes. "Director Chen, you should go back first. I'll rest a bit more and then I can go home by myself."

“Okay, I’ll have the doctor treat your burns. These kinds of burns are very prone to infection.” He stood up, then remembered something, “If you want to ask about past medical records, you can go to the archives and check your previous medical records.”

Li Hui got out of bed in the hospital's injection room, completely forgetting Director Chen and Zhang Lili's instructions, and went straight to the Women and Children's Hospital.

The archives are located in a small room of about ten square meters behind the registration office on the first floor. Usually, apart from the occasional doctor who comes to borrow the files, there is only an old doctor in charge of the files who is reading at his desk.

It was midday, and the small room was filled with the aroma of food. The old doctor sat in front of an empty lunchbox, intently picking his teeth. Li Hui had rarely come to the records room in the three years she had been at the hospital.

Back in the old hospital building, the archives were a small, dark, and damp place. We worked with the lights on all day, and because the space was so small, things were piled up haphazardly. Now, the archives in this new building are much better than before, but she noticed that many shelves had very few files scattered about, and some were even empty.

"Excuse me," she smiled at the old doctor, "could I check some of your previous medical records?"

"When would you like to check?" The old doctor raised his eyes and pushed up his glasses with his little finger with a long nail.

“Three years ago,” Li Hui said, glancing at the files inside that were older in color and covered in more dust.

"Three years ago?" He scrutinized Li Hui, as if there was something suspicious about her. "I'm afraid she'll be hard to find."

"Why?"

"We cleaned up some of it when we moved to the new building last year."

"How is that possible?"

“Hey, our small district-level hospital doesn’t have any particularly difficult cases, so keeping so many files is pointless.”

Li Hui was stunned. She thought about it and realized that she didn't know what others were like, but she herself had been working at the hospital for three years and had only been to the archives three times, this being the fourth time. She was buried in her busy daily work and had never thought of coming here to look through the documents or study the work.

She said reluctantly, "Please help me look for it, I really need it."

"Okay. Which day was it three years ago?"

"This... I don't know either."

"Then how do we find it?"

"I'll find it myself."

Li Hui ignored the old doctor and went inside to rummage through the dusty paper bags.

Not knowing the exact time, she could only dig out all the files from that year. But as she flipped through them, she discovered that there was only a small portion of the files from that year, and in that portion, there were no cases of mothers being admitted to the hospital at night, their babies being born in the early morning, and dying shortly after birth.

Li Hui stood by the file rack, her hands covered in dust, lost in thought. She felt empty inside; there wasn't a single clue to this matter.

She didn't know what to do now, or how she got out of the archives.

After several days of gloomy weather, the sun suddenly shone brightly on the street, and Li Hui was so blinded by the light that she couldn't open her eyes. Although her fever had subsided, her eyes felt sore, her head was heavy and her legs felt light, and she felt as if she were losing her balance when she walked.

Li Hui didn't know where she was going. One empty taxi after another passed by her. The drivers would stick their heads out of their cars to check Li Hui's expression and guess whether she needed a ride. In the end, they would all leave disappointed.

Her gaze swept across the faces of passersby, thinking that the mother who had suffered the pain of losing her child might be walking down the street right now. If she remembered what the new mother looked like, she could recognize her. Unfortunately, she was too disoriented by the emergency to really look at the baby's mother's face.

It was already 2 p.m. She wanted to eat something first, so she looked for the "Xin Ya Da Bao" chain store. Xin Ya Da Bao, which is found all over Shanghai, offers a wide variety of cheap, delicious, and diverse snacks. Li Hui, a working-class woman, is a regular customer there.

A sign a short distance ahead caught her eye; it advertised another famous Shanghai snack: "Chicken and Duck Blood Soup." The clear broth was adorned with tiny pieces of chicken and duck blood and vibrant green scallions, looking delicate and refreshing, yet tasting sweet and delicious. Still feverish, Li Hui was immediately captivated by her own imagination. Her foot involuntarily veered, and she stepped through the small door beneath the sign.

She sat down, ordered a bowl of soup, and then couldn't think of anything else to order. Pretending not to see the disappointment on the waitress's face, she looked away.

It was well past the prime time for snacks, and there weren't many people in the shop. However, a woman sitting by the window looked familiar. In front of her were two bowls of soup and a pile of snacks such as xiaolongbao and fried noodles. She was eating as if no one else was around, and she was sweating profusely.

When the woman looked up from her bowl, Li Hui saw her belly, which had been hidden under the table, was now prominently swollen, as if she were carrying twins. At that moment, the woman also noticed Li Hui watching her, and their eyes met, both smiling involuntarily. It turned out that she was Da Dun'er's wife.

"It's Dr. Li! Come and sit down!" The woman warmly invited Li Hui, but Li Hui felt somewhat psychologically blocked due to some inappropriate associations.

While they were hesitating, the soup arrived. The waiter overheard their conversation and placed the soup directly on Mrs. Dadun's table.

Li Hui felt extremely embarrassed, but the woman didn't notice her emotional change at all and chatted with her with a smile.

"Dr. Li, are you feeling better? Dadun told me about your situation when he came back, and I was really worried about you!"

"You're fine now. Have you come to our hospital for a check-up recently?"

"I had a checkup, and the child has been growing incredibly fast lately; I can hardly walk anymore."

"Still such a good appetite?" Li Hui looked at the table full of food. "As long as you get enough nutrition, you don't need to eat too much."

The woman smiled sheepishly: "I know, but I just can't stand being hungry, I always want to eat. Dadun doesn't let me eat too much, so I sneaked out today."

"If the baby is too big, it might be a little troublesome during delivery."

"Anyway, I've already made up my mind. I'll just have a C-section then. I'll feel at ease with you in the hospital."

Li Hui thought to herself, "This woman really knows how to make excuses for herself. How can such a woman be pampered and loved by a man like Da Dun'er? It's true that ugly women are lucky."

Thinking of Dadun'er made her feel extremely uncomfortable in front of this woman, like a thief in front of an unsuspecting victim.

"You don't understand," the woman muttered incessantly as she ate, "I'm really terrified of childbirth. I try to avoid it if I can. Surgery is painful, but if the doctor is skilled, you won't die!"

"No, as long as the baby is in the correct position, natural childbirth is better. The mother recovers faster, the milk supply is not affected, and it is also good for the baby's development."

“But my family has always been terrified of this kind of thing.” The woman looked at Li Hui, a mysterious look on her face. “To tell you the truth, Da Dun’s sister is a case in point. She gave birth to a son that year, but the baby was too big to come down, so they had to use forceps to pull him out alive. A perfectly healthy boy, but he died right after birth!”

Li Hui's head throbbed with a "boom!" Her eyes were fixed on the woman's greasy mouth, and she could only see two thin lips moving up and down incessantly, but she could no longer hear what the other person was saying.

"Dr. Li, have you finished eating?" the woman's voice rose. "Have some more steamed buns."

"Oh, no need." She didn't dare look at the woman, but her heart was pounding and her ears were perked up, wanting to hear the woman continue, but all she heard was her loudly slurping her soup.

"Does Sister Dadun have a child now?" Li Hui finally couldn't help but ask.

"I haven't gotten pregnant since then."

"Which hospital did she give birth in?"

"It was at your hospital. Back then, your hospital was still in an old building in the old city, very close to Sister Dadun's house."

What year was that?

"It was several years ago, before I married Dadun."

Li Hui couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad. Da Dun'er's older sister was very likely the woman who had given birth that night, but why did she have to be Da Dun'er's sister? Why had Da Dun'er never mentioned this to her? Was Da Dun'er intentionally keeping it from her?

The reason? Was it because he asked Li Hui to be his wife's prenatal counselor, or was it because he deliberately concealed this matter in order to carry out some... plan of his?

"Timeline of death"?

Li Hui suddenly felt a chill run through her body. She never expected that Da Dun'er would be the younger brother of the woman who had just given birth!

It seems his asking her for advice on prenatal care was just a pretense. Now she understands that Da Dun'er's so-called warm care and help after her injury, and how quickly they slept together and became intimate, were all deliberately arranged by Da Dun'er!

Fortunately, she met Da Dun'er's wife here today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

She had initially clung to Da Dun'er, hoping he would come back to keep her company and help her through this difficult time. Now, it seemed she had fallen into his trap.

Li Hui felt her vision blurring, her head throbbing, and she was completely overwhelmed. She desperately wanted to escape; she needed to go back and sort out her thoughts, to figure out what to do next. But the woman was still enthusiastically eating and talking:

"Dr. Li, if you feel better, I would like to ask you to perform a cesarean section on me."

Li Hui was startled when she heard this. This foolish woman was still completely in the dark about her husband's plans! Could her husband's family really entrust the matter of carrying on their family line to Li Hui, a doctor who already owed them a life? Of course, Da Dun'er wouldn't tell his wife his real purpose for coming to see Li Hui.

But Li Hui had to hide the turmoil in her heart: "Okay, then you can have Da Dun'er find me." She thought to herself that Da Dun'er would arrange his own child's birth ceremony, but he would never look for Li Hui again.

Guess what disaster is coming?

As Li Hui lay in bed, the image of Dadun'er reappeared before her eyes.

If it weren't for his wife's words today, Li Hui would never have been able to associate this man with the "death timetable."

But now, when she thinks of him, she feels that his faint smile, which always carries a hint of melancholy, does indeed seem to harbor something unspeakable; and his concerned eyes, which never leave her side, seem to always be afraid that she might run away at any moment.

It was on the morning that Da Dun called her that she received the letter containing the "death timetable." He and his wife then invited her to dinner, wanting to see her reaction. But she hadn't even read the letter yet, and when he didn't see the expected effect on her face, he launched into a barrage of hysterical emails!

In the following days, he frequently appeared around her, wanting to know her reaction at any time.