Chapter 39: Trying to Ditch Me and Run Off Alone?

Chapter 39: Trying to Ditch This Young Master and Run Off Alone?

Su Zhiyu paused.

Did it count, though?

He wasn't sure if it counted. Qin Yan had just insisted on tagging along—maybe it was to keep an eye on him...

"Yes." Qin Yan answered for him. He smiled politely at the nurse. "I'm his friend. Please, show us the way."

Qin Yan wasn't wearing glasses, and when he lifted his head, his striking eyes were on full display.

The nurse was startled for a moment, then quickly pulled herself together and smiled back at him. "Okay, follow me." She then said to Su Zhiyu, "Mr. Su, since you haven't been here for the past two months, let me catch you up on your mother's condition."

"Okay."

Su Zhiyu fell into step beside the nurse, hanging on her every word.

Qin Yan trailed behind.

Su Zhiyu cared about his mother more than anything. If one day... Qin Yan couldn't bear to think about it.

When they reached the ward, Qin Yan stood at the door and glanced inside. The middle-aged woman on the hospital bed was hooked up to tubes and on a ventilator, looking sallow and gaunt, her cheeks sunken and hollow.

Qin Yan's heart lurched violently.

He thought of his own mother.

She had passed away when he was just in elementary school. Back then, she had been just as devastatingly thin, lying in bed every day, groaning in pain, her tears always soaking the pillow.

She'd been so young back then. Many a night, little Qin Yan would curl up in her arms, feel the dampness of tears on her cheeks, and hear her murmuring over and over:

"Mommy can't bear to leave you, baby. Mommy hurts so much... I can't take it anymore..."

He didn't understand why his mother said she couldn't bear to leave him when she was right there with him. Was she going to leave him?

He didn't dare open his eyes, or ask.

As if, as long as he never asked, his mother would always be there, holding him as he fell asleep every night like she used to.

Until... she stopped sleeping beside him. She groaned in pain every night, enduring until dawn, unable to eat, wasting away to nothing.

His father became more and more irritable.

Little Qin Yan was terrified of it all. He didn't dare anger his father or defy his mother, but he wanted to see her. He would always creep out of bed in the middle of the night and quietly open her door.

She would be tossing and turning alone in bed, crying out in pain—but the moment she saw her son, she would still manage a smile and patiently coax him to go back to sleep.

Little Qin Yan always did as he was told and went back to bed.

Eventually, he didn't have a mother anymore. His father remarried and had a new son, and no longer had any use for him.

He was sent to live with his grandparents out in the countryside.

It didn't matter.

Qin Yan was never close to his father anyway. As long as he had food to eat, he could get by. Fortunately, his grandparents were very good to him, doing everything they could to make it up to him.

After he got into university, his grandparents passed away one right after the other, and he had no more ties to this world.

He thought he had forgotten all of it long ago.

Qin Yan gripped the doorframe, a mist he didn't notice forming over his eyes, blurring his vision so he could no longer see the people in the ward or hear the voices inside.

"Sir?"

The nurse walked out and addressed him as she passed.

Qin Yan shook himself out of it, blinking. Tears fell to the ground, leaving small damp spots.

He sniffled, pulled himself together, and said, "Nurse, let's talk outside."

"Alright."

Qin Yan quickly wiped his eyes, took one deep look at Su Zhiyu, who was leaning over the bed holding his mother's hand, and slowly closed the door.

Outside the ward.

Qin Yan kept his head down, keeping his eyes hidden, and asked in a low, raspy voice, "Nurse, I'm his very close friend. I'd like to know—how is his mother's condition? Is there any chance she'll wake up?"

The nurse hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's hard to say. Her condition has actually stabilized, but the earlier treatment wasn't followed through on, which caused her body to gradually decline over the past six months. She might need another surgery."

The nurse paused for a few seconds. "The surgery costs a lot of money. If the funds can't be raised, there's nothing more we can do. As for whether she'll wake up in the meantime, I can't say for certain—you'd need to ask the attending physician."

Qin Yan pressed, "If she has the second surgery, how much would it cost?"

"Several million, and the follow-up care will cost more on top of that."

"Alright. Could you give me the attending physician's contact info? I'd like to get more details about her condition."

The nurse hesitated for a moment, then pointed toward the corner ahead. "Tell you what—he happens to be on duty today. Head down that way to office 1603 and you'll find him."

"Got it."

Since Su Zhiyu wouldn't be coming out anytime soon anyway, Qin Yan went ahead and sought out the attending physician, posing as a family member.

Meanwhile.

Su Zhiyu sat by the hospital bed after filling a basin with hot water. He wrung out a towel and carefully wiped his mother's hands, smiling softly as he talked to her:

"Mom, I'm doing really well now. Don't worry about me. I've met a good person—maybe we can afford the surgery now."

"I'll come visit you often. Oh, right—I didn't come alone today. Someone came with me, but... he seems a bit shy about meeting you."

"Mom, look, I have a friend now. When you wake up, you can meet him yourself."

He rambled on alone for a long time, and before he knew it, he'd talked about Qin Yan more than anything else.

When he snapped out of it, he was annoyed with himself. Why was he telling his mother all this nonsense? Qin Yan was clearly a terrible person... well, he used to be. He'd only been acting decent for such a short time—how had he already started thinking of him as a friend?

No.

It didn't count.

Su Zhiyu's mind was a mess. When he walked out of the ward, he found Qin Yan was already gone, with no message on his phone either.

Had he already left?

Whatever.

He said he'd walk me here, but he never said he'd stay. It was just a casual remark—why did I take it so seriously?

Su Zhiyu silently put his phone back into his pocket and headed downstairs, intending to catch the bus home.

"Mr. Su?"

The nurse saw him, looked a bit surprised, and glanced behind him. Seeing no one, she asked, "Are you heading back now?"

Su Zhiyu nodded. "Yes, I'm going back. If anything comes up with my mom, please let me know right away. Thanks for your help."

"It's our job. By the way, your friend is quite thoughtful. He asked a lot of questions about your mom's condition and even went out of his way to see Dr. Wang."

Went to see Dr. Wang?

Su Zhiyu pressed, "He hasn't left?"

The nurse shook her head, puzzled. "No, he hasn't. I just came down from up there, and he's still in. Didn't he tell you?"

"No."

"Uh, well..."

"I'll go up and find him. Sorry about that."

Su Zhiyu turned and headed back upstairs, but as he turned the corner, he saw Qin Yan coming down the stairs.

Qin Yan was moving fast, taking the stairs two at a time, nearly stumbling as he rushed down.

He was slightly out of breath, gripping the railing, and frowned with a pout: "Su... why didn't you call me? Trying to ditch me—the young master—and run off on your own?"

Arrogant as always.

Su Zhiyu's heart softened. He silently extended a hand toward the person above: "Come down."