Mu Xing bit her lip.
Although she was reluctant to reveal the obvious outcome, she could no longer deceive herself or give Jinbao any more hope as a doctor.
She finally shook her head.
After a moment of silence, Bai Yan said, "Just now... the doctor also told Jinbao the same thing. They said they dared not give any more hemostatic injections, Xiao Azhen's body was severely overdrawn, surgery could not be arranged, and there was no other way. They suggested that Jinbao take Xiao Azhen back. Xiao Azhen kept saying she wanted to eat candied hawthorn and shortbread, so Jinbao went out to buy some just now, and also... prepared 'those things' that we would need later."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xing clenched his fists.
Seeing Mu Xing's expression, Bai Yan led her to a quiet corner outside the ward: "You must be tired too, sit down and rest for a while."
As soon as he sat down, Mu Xing leaned on Bai Yan's shoulder.
She was truly exhausted.
Bai Yan didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently stroked her hair.
Mu Xing's hair had grown quite a bit, and she no longer used hair oil, instead using a hairband to tie it up and let it hang down her back. After a busy day, the hairband had long since come undone, and her soft hair fell down, obscuring her face. Bai Yan slowly brushed aside the stray strands of hair and tucked them behind Mu Xing's ears.
After a long pause, Mu Xing sighed softly, nuzzled against Bai Yan's shoulder, and drawled, "Wan'er, Wan'er, Wan'er..."
She patted her gently, as if coaxing a child, and said softly, "I'm here."
Chapter 83
"On September 2, 1931, the National Revolutionary Army's encirclement and suppression operation against... was a glorious defeat... A frontline reporter sent a telegram on the 15th..."
After quickly glancing at the newspaper, Mu Xing stuffed the last bite of toast into her mouth, stood up to leave, but Mrs. Mu, sitting opposite her, hurriedly called out to her, "Come back quickly, drink your milk too!"
Mu Xing had no choice but to go back and drink the milk.
However, Madam Mu wouldn't let her off the hook: "You child, when the clinic was quiet, you insisted on going to the pharmacy to do some 'reforms,' keeping everyone busy all the time. Now that the 'reforms' are finally over, and the manager is finally free, you want to go back to the clinic to join the fun! Huh? It's not that I'm being unreasonable, it's just that I'm worried about you! There are so many refugees, even if you did some odd jobs in the back, it would be a contribution! But you insisted on squeezing in..."
Mu Xing ran outside, saying, "Oh, I know now, my briefcase, where's my briefcase?" Jing Ye, who was waiting nearby, quickly grabbed the briefcase and handed it to him.
"Right, Fu Guang... no, Jing Ye." Mu Xing suddenly realized something was wrong. "Huh, I've been so busy these past few days, why haven't I seen that girl Fu Guang?"
Jingye lowered her eyes and said, "Fuguang's mother is not feeling well, so she asked someone to come and take her back home early the day before yesterday."
"Oh, I see. Then we really should go back." Mu Xing then looked at Dr. Mu, who was still sitting at the dining table: "Dad, aren't you leaving? I'll go first then?"
Madam Mu, who had been grumbling, then shifted her focus: "Yiqian, why don't you say anything about her..."
Mu Yiqian simply sat at the dining table and mumbled a response.
Mu Xing hurriedly left, and only then did Madam Mu cease her magical powers. She began to enjoy her beauty meal with Aunt Mu, while Uncle Mu sat to the side reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. The gardener was watering the plants in the garden, and the occasional voices of the cooks could be heard from the kitchen. Everything was no different from a typical morning.
Aside from Mu Yiqian, who unusually did not rush to the hospital.
After everyone had finished breakfast and were preparing to leave, Mu Yiqian finally coughed.
"Brother," he called out to Uncle Mu, "Do you know Bai Yan's identity as Ah Xuan's... friend?"
Everyone was puzzled when he suddenly asked such an unrelated question.
Madam Mu asked, puzzled, "Isn't Bai Yan a friend of Ah Xuan's? She's a very nice girl. Why are you suddenly asking about her?"
After a pause, Uncle Mu carefully spoke, "If you mean her 'profession,' then I understand."
Upon hearing this, Mu Yiqian did not respond.
He lowered his head, hiding his face in the shadows. Only a few stray white hairs shimmered under the light, but they did nothing to enhance his charm. His hands, which had held countless lives in their hands, now seemed to have lost their place. They gripped the tablecloth, then curled up in frustration, finally clenching together helplessly, drooping into the shadows along with his proud head.
"...Yiqian?" Finally realizing that something was wrong with her husband, Madam Mu stood up worriedly and walked towards Mu Yiqian: "Yiqian? Are you alright? Are you too tired?"
Nearby, Aunt Mu put down her teacup and gave Jingye, who was waiting, a wink. The maids in the living room immediately and tactfully withdrew from the living room. Jingye then went upstairs to the old lady's room and closed the door behind her.
Madam Mu pinched Uncle Mu: "What's going on? What kind of secret signals are you exchanging here? What happened to Miss Bai?"
Uncle Mu frowned: "Yiqian, if you're worried about Miss Bai's career, I can assure you that she changed jobs after she... became friends with Mu Xing."
"What are you thinking about?" Sitting down next to Mu Yiqian, Madam Mu took his hand and asked with concern, "Yiqian, what are you worried about? Please tell me."
Mu Yiqian shook his head.
"I really hope I'm wrong, that I'm thinking the wrong thing, Qingjia, I really hope..."
Madam Mu said patiently, "What is it? Tell me and we'll figure something out together, okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Mu Yiqian raised his head, looked at his wife across from him, and voiced his guess: "Qingjia, Ah Xuan, perhaps... followed the same path as Fu Xue."
Madam Mu didn't react at first: "Fu Xue? What do you mean?"
Aunt Mu was also puzzled: "What do you mean, the same road? Oh, does Ah Xuan suddenly not want to study medicine anymore and want to study painting instead...?"
The conversation abruptly stopped.
The air in the living room seemed to vanish in an instant, plunging all emotions into a vast, pale silence.
"How...how is this possible? What nonsense are you talking about?" Madam Mu looked at Mu Yiqian in shock.
Mu Yiqian remained silent, and that silence tore at Madam Mu's nerves second by second.
She almost screamed: "What did you mean by asking about Miss Bai? Could it be her? It's her and Ah Xuan... isn't it, isn't it?"
Aunt Mu suppressed her emotions and took a few steps forward to pull Madam Mu back: "Qingjia, don't be anxious!" She then looked at Mu Yiqian and asked, "Did you see something, or did you hear something outside that led you to make this guess?"
Shaking his head, Mu Yiqian slowly and heavily recounted the things that had been lingering in his mind for days: how he had discovered Mu Xing and Bai Yan's affair outside the municipal hospital that day, how he had questioned Fu Guang and Uncle Song, investigated Mu Xing's project details, and tracked down his whereabouts... step by step, he wove together a fact that almost drove him mad.
"...Nothing else matters. The only thing is that I found out that Ah Xuan spent 5,000 yuan at the pharmacy in early August. After asking Lao Song, he told me that Ah Xuan took her fingerprint and had Lao Song buy an apartment in the new Ximen Street."
“I had Lao Jin inquire about that apartment yesterday. Usually only Miss Bai is there, but on every day that Ah Xuan says she has to work overtime or go out to play, the doorman can see her coming in and out of the apartment.”
"Oh my god..." Upon hearing this, Madam Mu finally couldn't hold back her tears and covered her face. "This child, this child! No wonder he's been away from home so often, he actually... he actually..."
"Before this, Ah Xuan also..." Mu Yiqian glanced at his elder brother and changed his words: "There's no need to mention the past anymore. In short, things are basically confirmed now."
Madam Mu had already burst into tears, and Aunt Mu comforted her repeatedly, her eyes also reddening. After thinking for a moment, she whispered to Mu Yiqian, "Yiqian, I shouldn't have said this, but that year, Fu Xue... didn't you say that Westerners say this kind of thing might be... a mental problem? Is it possible that Fu Xue... passed it on to A-Xuan?"
Before Mu Yiqian could speak, Madam Mu cried out, "How could this be? How could this be! Are you going to treat my Ah Xuan the way the Feng family treated Miss Feng back then?!"
Fearing that Madam Mu's crying would disturb the old lady upstairs, Aunt Mu quickly embraced Madam Mu, gave the two men beside her a wink, and led Madam Mu to the back hall, saying as they walked, "No, don't worry, we're talking about science here, it's a Western way of thinking. The Feng family was just using superstition back then..."
Silence fell over the living room once again.
After a long pause, Mu Yiqian looked up at his uncle and finally spoke, "Brother, did you already know—or rather, guess?"
Mu Yiqian didn't ask the remaining half of the question, but they both knew what it was.
Why didn't you stop it? Why?
Uncle Mu simply turned his face slightly, avoiding Mu Yiqian's gaze.
"I just thought of the snow."
silence.
“Yiqian, it’s been nine years, and I still can’t help but think about it…” Uncle Mu turned his head and looked at Mu Yiqian.
"If we had done things differently back then, from a different perspective, regarding Fu Xue, Miss Feng, and... Mother, would our family be better off now?"
Chapter 84
Although the flood situation in the south was gradually brought under control and the victims began to return to their hometowns in an organized manner, the clinics were still overcrowded. It wasn't until the afternoon that Mu Xing finally had a chance to go to the municipal hospital.
After several days and nights of torment, Jinbao finally decided to take Xiao Azhen home—ostensibly for her to "rest at home," but everyone knew what going home meant for Xiao Azhen.
But no one could do anything about it.
A single injection to stop the bleeding costs 50 yuan, and a vial of nutritional supplement costs 30 yuan. Little A-Zhen's life now hinges entirely on these two medications. Both Bai Yan and Mu Xing are willing to help if needed, but the injections can only prolong her life; they cannot truly save her. Between life and death, even money seems so powerless.
With current medical technology, no one can save her, nor can anyone save the millions who have died from the same disease.
When Mu Xing arrived at the hospital, Bai Yan had not yet arrived. Xiao Azhen had already been moved out of the private room. After finding the room, Mu Xing greeted Jin Bao and then sat down to help Jin Bao fill out the discharge certificate so that Jin Bao could feed Xiao Azhen.
Baked flatbread, snowflake candy, red bean paste rolls... these were all Xiao Azhen's favorite snacks, which she would crave even when she was sick. But when Jinbao fed them to her, she refused to eat them.
With tears in his eyes, Jinbao pleaded with her, "Eat a little bit, and then we'll go home, okay? Ah Zhen, be a good girl..."
As if sensing something was about to happen, little Zhen curled up on the pillow and asked softly, "Sister, after we get home, will we still come to the hospital?"
Upon hearing this, Jinbao's hand holding the red bean paste roll trembled slightly, and burnt crumbs fell onto the sheet, slowly leaving tiny, tear-like stains.
"Let's...let's go back home for the Mid-Autumn Festival, for the Mid-Autumn Festival..." Jinbao said with a forced smile, "Haven't you been thinking about eating mooncakes? Sister will take you home, and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, we'll go back to the hospital for your injection, okay?"
Little Zhen stared at her older sister for a moment, then pursed her lips, shook her head, and shrank further into the blankets. When she spoke again, her voice was trembling with tears: "No, Zhen doesn't want to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival anymore, I don't want to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival anymore, I want to stay in the hospital..."
"Stop it." Jinbao tried to pull her away, but Xiao Zhen wouldn't listen and twisted around, crying so hard she could barely breathe: "I don't want to, I don't want to go home, sister, let's not go home, okay, okay..."
The once noisy ward gradually quieted down, with only the sound of little Ah Zhen wailing audible.
Unable to bear it any longer, Mu Xing was about to say a few words of comfort when Jinbao, who had been trying to soothe Xiao Azhen, suddenly exploded: "Enough! Do you think I want to take you back? Do you think I don't want you to get better?!"
Little Zhen was so frightened that she immediately shut up.
Like a balloon bursting under its own weight, filled with blood and tears, Jinbao's face flushed red as he roared desperately, "I can't do it, you know that! You know that?! What else can I do? Do you think I don't want to save you? I wish I could die in your place! But, but... I really can't..."
As he roared, Jinbao trembled all over, lowered his head helplessly, and tears he had never shed in front of Xiao Azhen fell drop by drop onto the bed sheet.
"When Dad was alive, I had to pay off his debts. He's dead. I thought things would be better, at least... at least we could survive... Why, why..."
Mu Xing stood helplessly to the side, while Xiao Azhen sat on the bed, staring blankly at Jinbao, her bulging eyes already devoid of color.
It didn't take long, much faster than Mu Xing had expected, and Jinbao recovered quickly.
Wiping away her tears, she put away the snacks and took out the clothes she had prepared for Xiao Azhen: "If you're not going to eat, put on these clothes and let's go home."
Without making a fuss, little Zhen obediently stretched out her hand, letting Jinbao put the clothes on her.
Mu Xing stood behind and watched, but the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.
Silk and cotton fabric, blue and white color scheme, pattern of five bats holding a longevity symbol, cloth belt buckle... This is clearly the style of a funeral garment!
Even though she was mentally prepared, Mu Xing still trembled the moment she saw the clothes. Not wanting to look any longer, she picked up her discharge certificate and walked out.
After completing the formalities and packing her things, Mu Xing hired a car for them to go home, and then returned to the clinic herself. She was busy until evening, and as soon as she stepped out of the clinic, she saw Bai Yan waiting for her at the entrance.
With so many things to do, both of them felt a little heavy-hearted, but the moment they saw each other, a tender feeling would well up from their hearts like water, soothing all the gloomy emotions.
"Let's go."