Chapter 61
Fang Jing Yao delivered meals to Aunt Wei for several days in a row, staying in the ward to keep her company. The portions of the meals were gradually increased until today, when they were so large that it was impossible to mistake them for a single serving.
Fang Jing Yao looked at the dishes and two bowls of rice on the table. After thinking about it carefully, he realized he really couldn’t eat anymore.
Aunt Wei laughed at him, “Why don’t you just take it to Long Yu? While it’s still warm, you can eat with him over there. I can manage on my own here.”
Fang Jing Yao wanted to find another reason, but Aunt Wei’s daughter also arrived. Her cousin knocked twice at the door and came in carrying a thermos. She nodded and smiled when she saw Fang Jing Yao, feeling especially grateful because he had been taking care of her at the hospital for the past few days.
Fang Jing Yao greeted her politely, calling her “sister” in a way that was even more affectionate than Long Yu’s.
My cousin found his smile endearing and didn’t feel awkward hearing him call her that. She nodded in response, “Thank you for your help these past few days.”
Fang Jing Yao smiled and said, “No trouble at all, it’s nothing!”
Aunt Wei looked at her and said, “Why did you send another one? Jing Yao and the others have already sent a lot; we can’t finish it all.”
Her cousin smiled and coaxed her, “It’s not much, just a small bowl of yam porridge. It’s very light. Try it. If you don’t like it, I’ll take it home, okay?” The old woman was getting on in years, and her tone was habitually like that of a child when she coaxed her to eat.
Fang Jing Yao chimed in, and Aunt Wei was amused by them. She told her daughter to sit down, then looked up at Fang Jing Yao and said, “Alright, I have someone to take care of things here, so don’t worry. Go find Long Yu.”
Fang Jing Yao then carried the oversized lunchbox out.
While helping the elderly person drink porridge, my cousin smiled and said, “You seem to really like this child?”
Aunt Wei swallowed slowly before saying, “You mean Jing Yao? He’s a good person.”
My cousin added, “He’s a perfect match for Long Yu.”
Aunt Wei smiled and said, “You’ve got it backwards. It’s Long Yu’s good fortune to have met him. This child has a good personality. These past few days, I’ve been especially happy whenever I see him, and talking to him for a few minutes makes me feel much better.”
My cousin smiled and scooped up another spoonful of porridge to feed her, saying, “Since you’re happy, you should eat a few more bites.”
Aunt Wei took a few bites, then waved her hand, telling her to put it down.
My cousin didn’t insist. Being able to eat even half a bowl was already much better than before. She was happy and started talking more. While clearing the dishes, she said, “Mom, I’ll put the porridge here. Eat a little if you’re hungry. The doctor said to eat small meals frequently. Even if you eat very little, you have to eat at least a couple of bites, otherwise your stomach will hurt again after taking the medicine.”
Aunt Wei nodded in agreement.
The mother and daughter chatted briefly before Aunt Wei urged her to go to work. The older cousin, reluctant to leave, kept looking back as she reached the door, like a little girl who couldn’t bear to be apart from her mother, turning back every step she took. Aunt Wei smiled and said, “Long Yu works at this hospital, and Jing Yao will be back soon too. What are you worried about?”
My cousin agreed and then left.
Aunt Wei sat half-reclined on the hospital bed, waiting for her to leave. Then she got up and went to the bathroom to vomit up everything she had eaten. After rinsing her mouth, she slowly walked back and lay down to rest.
She closed her eyes and sighed. The children were well taken care of, but she was not fortunate enough to enjoy it.
Fang Jing Yao went to see Long Yu and had lunch with him in Long Yu’s small office. Dr. Long had been so busy these past few days that he had lost some weight. He ate quietly with his head down, which made Fang Jing Yao feel a little sorry for him.
Fang Jing Yao said, “Don’t eat at the cafeteria tomorrow either.”
Long Yu looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
Fang Jing Yao said, “I’ll bring it to you again.”
Long Yu chuckled and said, “What, aren’t you afraid to see people?”
Fang Jing Yao scratched his face a little embarrassedly and said, “I am a little embarrassed, actually. When I came here today, I didn’t know where your office was, so I had to ask around. Your colleague was very enthusiastic in leading me here and even asked me who I was to you…”
Long Yu asked with interest, “What did you say?”
Fang Jing Yao pouted, “What else can I say? Just say you’re coming to see my brother!”
Dr. Long chuckled softly.
Fang Jing Yao ate quickly, and after finishing, he sat down and chatted with Long Yu. He had been visiting Aunt Wei in the hospital almost every day, spending more time with her than Long Yu did, and knew more about her. He picked out a few good things to tell Long Yu.
“…I ate a small bowl of porridge today and mentioned that I wanted to eat some yam tomorrow. It was a really coincidental thing, my cousin just happened to bring me a jar of yam porridge. My aunt said she didn’t need to bring it, but she kept it for me. She was drinking it when I left!” Fang Jing Yao said happily. “I think my aunt is getting better soon. The nurse also said she’s a bit better than yesterday, and her spirits are higher.”
Long Yu listened attentively to him, and even asked him a few questions.
Fang Jing Yao gestured to him, “Really, he ate all this fruit and even had a small bowl of porridge!”
Before he could say anything more, Long Yu suddenly stepped forward, hugged him, and kissed him, saying in a hoarse voice, “Jing Yao, thank you.”
Fang Jing Yao said a little embarrassedly, “You really don’t need to do this. If our parents get sick in the future, we’ll be the ones running errands. It’s good to practice in advance so we can take better care of them later. Raising children is for old age security, after all!” He was a lively person, and when talking about old age, he mentioned Zhuo Yifan again, and said with a smile, “Look, I’ve already raised one in advance. Although Yifan is usually quite troublesome, he’s still efficient when it matters. Look how quickly he sent that lawyer’s letter last time.”
Long Yu smiled too. His tired look had lessened, and he seemed to have regained some strength. His eyes were sparkling. He ruffled Fang Jing Yao’s hair and said with a smile, “Okay, then I’ll work hard too. I’ll work hard and become your… well, your and our whole family’s pride.”
Fang Jing Yao gave him a thumbs up, “You’re right to think that way.”
Long Yu watched him sitting there laughing and telling jokes, recounting all the fun things that had happened in the past few days. He even wrinkled his nose and complained to him about Aunt Wei, saying that Aunt Wei was a picky eater and that she couldn’t relax anymore after she recovered from her illness, and asked him to give her a diet plan… As Long Yu listened, he suddenly understood what Aunt Wei had said that day.
The person in front of me truly knew nothing, yet he was full of hope. He was full of vitality, as if he could stand up, pack his bags, and head to distant places without feeling tired at all, only filled with curiosity about the unknown.
After listening to him for a while, Long Yu seemed to be bewitched and went up to kiss him again. This time, Fang Jing Yao reacted immediately after being stunned and responded to him passionately.
When Fang Jing Yao walked out of Dr. Long’s office, his lips were redder than usual. He stood outside and secretly took a look; thankfully, they weren’t broken.
As he was looking around, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw it was indeed his mother. Fang Jing Yao immediately ran over and patted the old lady on the shoulder from behind, startling her. She turned around and breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s you! You scared me! What brings you here?”
Fang Jing Yao noticed her and asked, “I was quite surprised, Mom. Why are you at the hospital? Are you feeling unwell?”
Fang’s mother said, “No, I’m just here for a physical examination.”
Fang Jing Yao said “Oh,” and then added, “Wait a minute, didn’t you just have a physical exam in May? I remember your company arranged it all the time…”
“Your dad’s company organized a physical exam, and they had an extra spot. It was just a waste of time, so they gave it to me. What are you doing at the hospital?” Fang’s mother asked, then suddenly laughed, “Here to see Long Yu?”
Fang Jing Yao nodded and said, “Yes, he’s been too busy these past few days to go home for meals, and someone in his family is sick… Aunt Wei, do you remember, Long Yu’s aunt, who used to be our neighbor, she’s sick.”
Fang’s mother exclaimed “Oh dear!” and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? What illness do you have? Is it serious?”
Fang Jing Yao explained, but he didn’t know much, only that she was recuperating from a stomach ailment. Fang’s mother sighed and said, “At her age, everyone’s health is starting to decline. Back when we lived in the compound, she was the healthiest person. Alright, you go ahead and do your work. I’ll go see her after my checkup.”
Fang Jing Yao refused to leave and stood there asking, “What other tests are you missing? Shall I go with you?” He took the form from his mother’s hand. The only medical examination item left was the gastroscopy. He wanted to go with her, but his mother wouldn’t let him and urged him to leave first.
Fang’s mother said, “Long Yu’s aunt is seriously ill and has been hospitalized. I’m just having a check-up, and there’s nothing wrong with me. You go and take care of her first. We can take care of ourselves, so don’t worry about it.”
Fang Jing Yao said, “Then don’t try to save money. Add some money and get a painless one, otherwise it will be too uncomfortable.”
Fang Jing Yao’s mother laughed and shooed him away: “I know, I know, you talk too much.”
Fang Jing Yao went back to Aunt Wei’s place. Aunt Wei was receiving an IV drip and looked asleep with her eyes closed.
He tiptoed over and carefully sat down on a chair to keep her company while she received her injection. Bored, he played some games on his phone. He had a friend who was a game planner, and as soon as his company’s mobile game was released, he immediately invited his friends to play the beta version. While Fang Jing Yao was playing, a message popped up on his phone. It was from an old classmates’ group chat, and the message started with the question everyone hated most: “Are you there?”
How am I supposed to answer that? If you don’t tell me the problem, how am I supposed to know if I’m there or not? If it’s a small problem, I’m at home; if it’s a big problem, I’m definitely traveling or abroad and can’t find you, okay?
Fang Jing Yao looked at the username for a while. It was indeed a classmate, and it looked like a female classmate. But there was no nickname, and he couldn’t remember which classmate it was. He was just bored, so he casually replied: “Hey.”
The other party replied quickly, asking: “Could you please top up my phone credit by 200 yuan?” A string of unknown numbers followed.
Fang Jing Yao casually searched it on Baidu and found that it was an out-of-town number, which was obviously a scam. He decided to use the scam back.
Fang Jing Yao: “Sure, but topping up phone credit is too much trouble. Give me your Alipay account and I’ll transfer it directly to you!”
The other party quickly sent an account number. Fang Jing Yao replied slowly, telling the other party, “No, it seems my Alipay is linked. It costs 8.8 yuan to unlink it. Send me the money first, and I’ll transfer it to you after I unlink it.” After saying that, he sent the scammer an account number.
The other party was probably new to scamming, as they quickly transferred 8.8 yuan to me.
Fang Jing Yao ignored the other party and continued playing the game for a while. After finishing the game, he checked the chat history and saw that there were several messages from the other party, asking if he had received them.
After receiving the money, Fang Jing Yao blocked the other party without hesitation.
