Chapter 194: A Filial Child

Chapter 194: A Filial Child

Zuo Shangdang looked as if he had seen a ghost, his face filled with terror. "You... you're joking, right?"

"You must be joking, right?"

Zuo Zuying looked serious. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Old man, were you really that bad back then? You actively led the charge, stirring up trouble in people's homes, just to embezzle? Those things were supposed to be destroyed during the 'Four Olds' campaign, and you hid them all? Are you out of your mind?"

"But at least you had some conscience, knowing to hide them here. Did you do this to protect me and Mom? Seeing how sincerely you cared for us, I forgive you. I threw everything into the Yellow Sand River, destroyed all evidence. From now on, this ticking time bomb is completely defused. No one will ever find out about the awful things you did!"

Zuo Shangdang, hearing his son's words, suddenly couldn't breathe. His mind was filled with spinning Tetris blocks of various shapes and colors, and then everything went black. He knew nothing more.

"Hey, hey, old man, what's wrong? Don't die on me!"

Zuo Zuying shouted loudly, but he just squatted nearby, watching the scene without any intention of checking on his father.

After confirming that Zuo Shangdang had indeed passed out, he stood up and continued searching the study.

After rummaging around, he found that the items outside the safe were unimportant.

Finding nothing of value, Zuo Zuying walked to the door, picked up one of Zuo Shangdang's feet, and dragged him out.

"Like a dead pig, so heavy..."

"Clang!" It was the sound of Zuo Shangdang's head hitting the corner of a table.

The impact caused Zuo Shangdang's eyelids to twitch slightly, and his consciousness began to return.

At that moment, Zuo Zuying grabbed his ankle and yanked it forward. "Thud!" It was the sound of Zuo Shangdang's head hitting the doorframe. His barely opened eyelids drooped again.

By the time Zuo Zuying drove his motorcycle and brought Zuo Shangdang to the hospital, the once dignified and scholarly-looking Zuo Shangdang was now unrecognizable. His forehead was swollen with three large purple bruises, countless smaller ones, his nosebleed had dried, and his face was covered in drag marks.

"Help! Help! Save my dad!"

Zuo Zuying, carrying his father, let out a loud cry that drew everyone's attention on the first floor of the hospital.

Doctors and nurses in white coats rushed over.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

Upon seeing Zuo Shangdang's disfigured face, the doctor's expression turned grave.

"Hurry, hurry, bring a stretcher!"

Zuo Zuying looked worried. "Doctor, is my dad okay? How is he?"

The doctor checked Zuo Shangdang's pulse and replied without looking up, "We'll need further tests to know. He's currently unconscious."

Zuo Zuying choked back tears, his heart aching. "Ah, today is my dad's birthday. He was so happy, got drunk, and started acting crazy—taking off his clothes and shoes. Look, he's not even wearing a coat, and his feet are bare. I couldn't stop him!"

"I saw he was so drunk, so I wanted to bring him to the hospital. But on the motorcycle, he insisted he was an eagle soaring through the skies. He untied the ropes, stood up, and flew off. Look at how he fell. If I hadn't been driving slowly, he wouldn't have made it to the hospital alive..."

"Doctor, you have to save him... It breaks my heart. It's all my fault for not watching him properly. I'm so unfilial!"

Zuo Zuying was on the verge of tears. "What should I do? If my mom finds out, or if my dad wakes up, he'll definitely blame me."

The head nurse, a woman in her forties, looked at the young man before her—handsome and filial, his face filled with guilt and distress. Her maternal instincts immediately kicked in.

"What right does he have to blame you for his own drinking? You're such a filial child, braving the cold weather and going through so much trouble to bring him to the hospital. It's his own fault, and he dares to blame you? If he really does that, then he's not a reasonable person. Don't worry, if your dad wakes up and blames you, I'll have a good talk with him!"

Zuo Zuying looked grateful, "Sister, thank you, thank you so much."

The head nurse, hearing him call her "sister," smiled so widely that her crow's feet crinkled like a tiny fan.

Watching Zuo Shangdang being wheeled in, Zuo Zuying curled his lips and followed leisurely behind.

After a series of examinations, Zuo Shangdang was quickly wheeled out.

Zuo Zuying, putting on the act of a devoted son, looked worriedly at the doctor, "Doctor, is my dad okay?"

The doctor frowned, "He's quite lucky to have survived flying off a motorcycle. Although the external injuries look severe, there's no life-threatening danger. His pinky finger is dislocated, and his head took a heavy blow, swollen and misshapen. He might wake up feeling dizzy and nauseous, which is a normal reaction. Also, he might have caught a cold from drinking, and now he has a fever. The nurse will come later to give him an IV. We'll assess his condition once he wakes up."

Zuo Zuying sighed in relief, looking fortunate, "That's great, thank you so, so much. It's your superb medical skills that brought him back to life, silently healing his ailments~ I understand, I understand!"

Zuo Zuying's over-the-top flattery made all the doctors and nurses present smile.

When Zuo Shangdang woke up, it was already dark. Before he even opened his eyes, he heard Zuo Zuying's laughter drilling into his ears. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw a blurry white world that gradually came into focus.

The ungrateful son was sitting beside him, grinning widely and playing a string game with two idle nurses.

A piece of yarn kept changing shapes in his hands, now a parachute, now a spider web.

"How about it? I told you I could do it, right?"

The little nurse beside him smiled brightly, "Really, so smart! Can you do a little star?"

"What kind of little star?"

"Here, I'll show you. Remember, I'll only do it once. If you learn it, you're amazing~"

Zuo Shangdang felt pain all over his body. He opened his mouth and hoarsely called out to Zuo Zuying, "Water... I need water..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a stinging pain on his lips, followed by a warm flow down the corner of his mouth. Zuo Shangdang wiped it with his hand; it was blood. His lips were cracked and peeling, and speaking had torn them open.

At that moment, he inadvertently saw the IV bag above his head, which was completely empty. The needle in his hand had been drawing blood for who knows how long. His eyes widened in anger as he glared at the ungrateful son sitting by the door, flirting with the young nurse and laughing like a fool, the veins on his forehead bulging out.

"Zuo... Zu... Ying!!"