Chapter 60
Aunt Wei is still receiving treatment in the hospital. She is getting thinner and thinner every day. The only comforting thing is that her mental state has been very good and she is cooperating well with her medication.
Because Long Yu was busy with work, Fang Jing Yao made several trips to the hospital to see her. He didn’t know the cause of Aunt Wei’s illness, and when he heard that this was a sanatorium, he didn’t think much of it, assuming that Aunt Wei was just getting old and had a weak immune system, and that she was here to recuperate. He was an optimist by nature, so when Long Yu was busy with work, he would come to the hospital to keep her company and stay there to cheer her up.
The small potted green ivy that was separated was placed on the balcony. It seemed to be having some trouble adjusting to the new environment, as the leaves were turning yellow and curling at the edges.
Fang Jing Yao leaned closer for a look and said with some concern, “Auntie, does this pothos need watering? It looks a little wilted…”
Aunt Wei said, “No need, watering it too much won’t work. Just move it to a different spot, away from direct sunlight.”
Fang Jing Yao said “Oh,” and obediently moved the flowerpot to a semi-shaded spot under the windowsill. After arranging it, he turned back to Aunt Wei and smiled, saying, “I’m not very good at growing flowers, and it’s the first time Longyu has ever grown these before. He doesn’t have much experience, and the pots seem a bit small when we separated them. After you’re discharged from the hospital in a few days, we’ll move them back to your place and let them grow for a while. They’ll definitely thrive again then. Longyu and I will go and get them back… Auntie, you don’t know, he treats these like his own children. He takes such good care of them. Once, I secretly watered one of them, and he got upset when he saw me!”
Aunt Wei laughed when she heard this and shook her head, saying, “Pothos can’t be pampered. Just leave it alone. It’ll be fine if you don’t water it for a week. Watering it too often will actually make it sick.”
Fang Jing Yao agreed and leaned closer with a grin, saying, “After you’re discharged from the hospital, I’ll definitely learn how to grow flowers from you. Long Yu has been particularly fond of growing these lately, and he bought a pot of ranunculus yesterday. The flower buds are really lovely.”
Aunt Wei listened and laughed, teaching him a few tips on growing flowers. Fang Jing Yao listened, but he was clearly a novice, starting to grow flowers without any preparation. When he didn’t understand, he would whine that he wanted to send the flowers to Aunt Wei’s place to grow, and then bring them back after they bloomed. He always had a smile on his face, his eyes crinkling into a smile that was brighter than the sunshine, looking very energetic. He kept saying things like “after you are discharged from the hospital,” as if Aunt Wei would really get better and be discharged in a few days.
Aunt Wei simply smiled and didn’t refute him.
When Long Yu came to visit Aunt Wei during his lunch break, he overheard Fang Jing Yao talking to the old lady. After only a few words, he heard her laugh, and Fang Jing Yao grinned as well. Seeing these smiles, Long Yu felt himself relax a bit, his tense body relaxed, and he walked in with a softened expression, saying, “Auntie, are you feeling better today?”
Aunt Wei smiled and said, “Much better. Jing Yao just had dinner with me, and he had a good appetite. Have you eaten yet?”
Long Yu said, “I’ve already eaten. The food in the hospital cafeteria isn’t as good as what I eat at home.”
Aunt Wei said, “Really, now that you’re married, you’ve become picky about food outside. You used to eat whatever you wanted.”
Fang Jing Yao chimed in, “That’s right! Didn’t you eat stir-fried houttuynia cordata for half a month before? What’s wrong with eating hospital food?”
“That’s because you listened to someone’s folk remedy, Auntie, and cooked this for half a month to cure my cough. It was so bitter, it was hard enough to swallow, how could I have the energy to cough?” After Long Yu finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Fang Jing Yao, “The food you ate for lunch, was it brought from home?”
Fang Jing Yao sat by the window and exclaimed exaggeratedly, “It’s so delicious! The mushroom and bok choy soup, the scallop congee, and the fried pork ribs are also pretty good!”
Long Yu glanced at him, then looked down at the empty lunchboxes on the table. They were indeed quite delicious, and his partner had already finished them all.
Dr. Long prepared some easily digestible food in the morning. Fang Jing Yao heated it up and brought it to Aunt Wei. The food was served separately with a small label that read “Fang,” clearly meant for Fang Jing Yao. Perhaps with a little bit of “maybe my wife will bring me food,” the portion was quite generous, but he didn’t expect Fang Jing Yao to easily finish two portions by himself, and even seem a little unsatisfied.
Dr. Long’s gaze was so intimidating that Fang Jing Yao felt guilty and coughed, saying, “I’ll go get some water.” He then grabbed the kettle and ran out.
Long Yu approached and examined Aunt Wei closely, then asked in a low voice, “Have you felt unwell anywhere these past few days? If you do, please let me know immediately. Don’t miss any checkups; you’ll be undergoing chemotherapy in a few days…”
Aunt Wei interrupted him, saying, “Everything is arranged at home, so don’t worry. Your cousin is out of town and I haven’t told him yet, but your cousin has been coming to see me before and after get off work these past few days. We’ve already given her all the instructions.”
Long Yu pursed his lips and looked at her without saying a word.
Aunt Wei knew his temperament, so she patted his hand and turned around to comfort him: “Don’t think too much about it. All of you kids are like this. Everyone seems more nervous than me. It’s been several years now, and even if something really happened, I’ve come to terms with it.”
Long Yu couldn’t stand hearing her say that; his heart would churn whenever he heard it. He tried to think for a long time before awkwardly changing the subject, just like Fang Jing Yao had done: “Your cousin’s workplace is far away, so don’t make her keep running back and forth like this. It’s inconvenient with the child. From now on, I’ll have Jing Yao bring you meals. Just remind him for me that I make so much food, so he should walk a few steps to bring me a portion too, instead of always eating alone.”
Aunt Wei laughed as she listened: “How come you’re just like Jing Yao, starting to be cheeky too, hehe.”
Long Yu smiled and rubbed her fingers together, saying, “Do you think I was better before, or better now?”
Aunt Wei said, “Of course it’s now. He’s living a more down-to-earth life now. You don’t know, when you were in school, your teacher even came to see me specifically, saying that the students said Long Yu was particularly arrogant. When I went there, I found out that you never did any chores in class. You couldn’t even wipe the table or sweep the floor. It’s not your fault. You’ve always had a nanny taking care of you at home. Except for a few days when you were two or three years old, living with your parents in the hospital dormitory and experiencing hardship, you’ve never experienced any hardship. You stand in the classroom like a young master and don’t even know how to ask for help.”
Long Yu chuckled: “You still remember all that?”
Aunt Wei said, “That’s right. During that time, I always made you learn to do housework. I didn’t think about what you would become in the future. I just wanted you to get along well with everyone.” She looked at Long Yu with a hint of relief and said, “I never thought that one day I would be able to eat your cooking. It’s really good. I can’t eat much, but seeing Jing Yao eating and praising it, I know it must be delicious.”
Long Yu laughed and said, “He ate the whole box?”
Aunt Wei laughed too: “That’s right, he was so full that he went out for a walk for a while, but he insisted on going to answer the phone. He didn’t even take his phone, which was on the cabinet, haha.”
Long Yu chuckled softly, able to picture Fang Jing Yao’s expression back then.
Aunt Wei looked up at the potted green ivy on the windowsill and suddenly said, “Sometimes when I look at Jing Yao, it’s like I’m really about to be discharged from the hospital. It makes me feel really good and hopeful.”
Long Yu paused for a moment, then said, “He doesn’t know…”
Aunt Wei smiled and said, “Then don’t tell him. This child is really good. He takes time to keep me company every day and tries his best to tell me jokes to cheer me up. It’s really kind of him. I like him the way he is now. I’ve received so much sympathy over the past few years. Don’t tell Jing Yao. I just want him to keep me company, like a regular patient, looking forward to being discharged every day. That would be nice.”
Long Yu smiled at her and said, “Okay, whatever you say.”
Aunt Wei smiled and patted his hand, saying, “Go find Jing Yao. He wanted to bring you lunch around noon. That kid seems carefree, but he’s actually shy. He’s probably afraid of being embarrassed to see your colleagues!”
Long Yu agreed, gave her a hug, and said with a smile, “Okay, I’ll go find him. You can get some sleep.”
Aunt Wei nodded in agreement. After he left, she tilted her head and looked at the green ivy on the windowsill for a while, then shook her head and smiled.
Long Yu found Fang Jing Yao in the corridor. Fang Jing Yao was still strolling around with a water bottle. Long Yu walked over a few steps and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you eat too much? Still not recovered?”
Fang Jing Yao rubbed his nose a little embarrassedly and said, “What can I do? You made all my favorite dishes…”
Long Yu deliberately put on a serious face and asked, “Is there anything you don’t like to eat, Mr. Fang?”
Fang Jing Yao smiled at him and said, “Yes, I don’t like to eat anything that wasn’t made by Dr. Long.”
Long Yu’s tense face softened when he laughed, and his eyes became gentle: “You can come to see me next time. I’ve mentioned you to my colleagues.”
Fang Jing Yao was startled: “Which colleague? What did you say?” He was a freelancer, so what was he afraid of? Long Yu was still at work!
Dr. Long glanced at him and said, “It’s the doctor who had the meeting with me in Haikou last time, and the director, they both know you.”
Fang Jing Yao asked, “How did you introduce yourself?”
Long Yu took a step closer, leaned down and kissed him, and said with a smile, “Just tell me, it’s one of my very good friends.”
Fang Jing Yao was so startled by his sudden attack that he almost exploded. He jumped back three steps, looked around, his face flushed, and whispered, “What are you doing! We’re outside. What if someone… what if someone is there?!”
Dr. Long had her hands in her pockets and couldn’t help but laugh as she looked at him, but she held back and kept a straight face, saying, “Since we’ve been seen, let’s kiss again, otherwise it’ll be too much of a loss.”
Fang Jing Yao felt a surge of anger, but then he realized something was wrong. These were words he often said. He had never realized before how rude he was!
Long Yu took two steps forward and said with a smile, “Just kidding. No one will come to this ward, and there are no security cameras. But seriously, even if someone sees us, it doesn’t matter to me. If you want to go public, I’ll go with you. If you don’t want to, I’ll just announce it to everyone in my heart. When you put on this ring… you’ll be my boyfriend.”
Dr. Long kissed his finger, then turned and left.
Fang Jing Yao stood in the corridor, feeling like he had been completely charmed by Dr. Long’s sweet words.
Damn, Dr. Long looks so handsome today!
