Bai Luochuan's Adam's apple rolled twice and he said, "I'm still young."
Old Bai laughed and scolded, "Little shit, when your grandfather was your age, he had already carried a gun and went to the battlefield several times. Come here and sign your name."
Bai Luochuan refused and frowned, saying, "Grandpa, why are you making such a clear distinction now? I don't want it, so take it back and keep it for yourself."
Mr. Bai still asked the lawyer to hand him the pen and said to him, "You are my only grandson, who else should I give it to? Keep it now, or your father will come back and snatch it from you."
Bai Luochuan was unable to write a single word after the old man stuffed his pen into his hand. His throat was choked with anger, and he slammed the pen on the table and said, "You're fine, aren't you? Why are you doing this?"
Mr. Bai urged him: "I am happy with it, why do you care about me? Just sign it."
Bai Luochuan felt uneasy and refused to accept it.
Old Bai became a little anxious and coughed twice. The lawyers immediately stood up and took good care of him. Bai Luochuan also stretched out his hand to stroke the old man's back, but was waved away by the old man.
Old Bai also had a bad temper. Although he was not as furious as he was years ago, his solemn expression still made people feel heavy. He looked at Bai Luochuan and told him again: "I've left the things here, and the lawyer will have to stay for a few days. I'll give you some time to think it over. If you still don't want to, don't come to see me."
Bai Luochuan opened his mouth and called him: "Grandpa..."
Bai Lao looked a little tired and said to him, "Go out, I'll take a break. You really make me die. If it were any other family, they would all be vying for it, but you are so stubborn that you won't even accept it."
Bai Luochuan was kicked out of the small building. He stood outside for a long time. Seeing that Mr. Bai had no intention of letting him in, he had no choice but to return to his room.
His cell phone was on the table, with two missed calls and a text message from Fu Qisheng, saying that there was some progress on the matter he had asked about before.
Bai Luochuan called and the call was picked up quickly.
"Mr. Bai, I have news about what you asked before. The driver who drove for the old man had his car broken down before, so he went to my cousin's auto repair shop to get it fixed. The rear bumper was slightly bumped. He said it was broken when he was in the provincial capital before, and a student hit it on his bike. Mr. Bai was kind and let the student go directly, and then he came back to fix it himself." Fu Qisheng said, "Because that road is a place name, Huangshan Road, so my cousin happened to be traveling there, so he remembers it very clearly. I also asked about the time, it was April 15th."
Bai Luochuan frowned when he heard the date. The 15th was the day of the thunderstorm a few days ago. It was also the day when Wu Le insisted on going into the room to watch over the old man. The horse remembered the road it had walked before and could distinguish the smell of people. It recognized the time in the middle of the month and went to make trouble and watch because it was afraid that the old man would leave the old house on that day.
Bai Luochuan asked him, "Have you asked about the time at the gas station? Do they also go out once a month? How long has it been like this?"
Fu Qisheng said: "I asked, it was in the middle of the month, it has been more than half a year."
Bai Luochuan said hoarsely: "I understand."
With the last bit of hope, he hung up the phone and searched the Internet for buildings near Huangshan Road in the provincial capital.
There is only one hospital near Huangshan Road, but it is not a provincial hospital, but a military hospital.
It is most famous for its tumor treatment.
Bai Luochuan closed his eyes and opened them after a long while. He called Luo Jiangjing and said, "Mom, I have something to tell you..."
After telling Luo Jiangjing what happened in the old house and what he had found out, the usually decisive Luo Jiangjing was silent for a moment, but she immediately said, "Stay at home with your grandfather, don't go anywhere, mom will be here soon."
Bai Luochuan nodded and said, "Okay."
Luo Jiangjing didn't even have time to comfort his son and quickly went to prepare various matters.
***
When Mi Yang was sleeping at night, he heard a slight sound outside the window, as if someone was knocking.
At first he thought he had misheard, but after a while, when he heard two more knocks, he got up and went to take a look. He lived on the second floor, and Bai Luochuan climbed the old elm tree in their yard to reach his window, and was reaching out and knocking twice more.
Mi Yang quickly opened the window to let him in, wondering, "Why did you come here suddenly? You called me and went down to open the door. Climbing a tree is so dangerous."
There was no light in the room, only a little moonlight shining in. After Bai Luochuan jumped in from outside, he hugged him without saying a word, burying his head in his neck without saying a word.
Mi Yang felt something was wrong, so he gently pushed him and asked, "Bai Luochuan, what's wrong with you?"
Bai Luochuan rested his chin on his shoulder, and after a while he spoke: "Grandpa gave me the old house and all the things he had accumulated."
Mi Yang was stunned for a moment, and he did not expect such a thing to happen. He remembered that it would be at least a few years before Bai Lao passed away, and it would not be now. Moreover, the last time he visited the old man, he was fine, just a little thinner, and there was nothing unusual.
Mi Yang grew up with him. Knowing that Bai Luochuan was sad, especially when he showed such a rare vulnerable side, he also felt sad. He reached out and hugged him, patted his shoulder and comforted him: "It's okay, maybe Grandpa Bai just wants to give it to you? He has always loved you, don't think too much about it, haven't you gone to a big hospital for a check-up yet? Let's go and persuade him, go to Beijing to find a big hospital for a check-up, there is always a way."
Bai Luochuan hugged his arms tightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
Mi Yang said to him again: "If Grandpa Bai goes to Beijing for treatment, we can go to accompany him when we are studying. I looked at the school's schedule last year. I have fewer courses, so I can go there often to accompany Grandpa Bai. There are more times during the winter and summer vacations in college. If Grandpa Bai wants to come back, we can come back and accompany him for a while."
Mi Yang smiled again and said softly: "If you are not free, I will come back to accompany him, and we can take turns, okay?"
Bai Luochuan choked up and said, "Okay, I have to go out tomorrow."
Mi Yang immediately said: "Then I will go to accompany Grandpa Bai. My cold has recovered. I will wear a mask to be safer."
Bai Luochuan forced a smile and said to him: "Grandpa kicked me out today. If he kicked you out, don't be sad. He is old and sick..."
Mi Yang smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, I'm a guest, Grandpa Bai won't drive me away."
The next morning, Bai Luochuan left alone. Before leaving, he was still a little worried, so he went around to the back to check on Old Bai.
Mi Yang had already arrived and was sitting in the small living room playing chess with Bai Lao. The old and the young seemed to be in harmony. Bai Lao smiled several times and seemed to be in a good mood. Bai Luochuan carefully watched from the window for a while and made sure that everything was fine before leaving with peace of mind.
It was not until the evening that he returned to the Bai family's old house.
Although Bai Lao lived separately from him, he still asked the chef to take care of his three meals a day and even left some food for him at night.
Bai Luochuan couldn't eat any more. He picked up the spoon several times and it shook violently. He put down the tableware and said indifferently, "I ate outside and went back upstairs to sleep."
He had been running around outside these days, and the people who stayed behind to take care of him didn't think anything was wrong, so they packed up their things and went back to tell Mr. Bai.
After hearing this, Bai Lao frowned slightly, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let him be. He may have eaten outside."
The doctor brought him some medicine and laughed, "If you're so worried about him, why don't you just let him come over? Why do you have to keep them separate?"
Bai Lao snorted, "He doesn't listen. He has such a stubborn temper. I don't know who he resembles."
The doctor brought him another cup of hot water and said, "You didn't say that before. You said he was stubborn, just like you when you were young."
When Mr. Bai heard this, he laughed. He took the medicine and swallowed it. He looked outside and sighed but didn't say anything else.
Luo Jiangjing returned to Shanhai Town quickly.
This time, she not only came by herself, but also brought two experts with her, and the only thing she had to do was drive the ambulance to the door of the Bai family's old house.
Mr. Bai had anticipated this situation and called her in to talk alone. When Luo Jiangjing came out, her eyes were red, but she didn't dare to mention it again and let Bai Luochuan speak.
She said to Bai Luochuan: "Your grandfather likes you the most. Go talk to him. Maybe he will listen to you."
Bai Luochuan nodded and asked her, "Where's my dad?"
Luo Jiangjing said: "He's on the way. He's also anxious. He'll be there tonight."
Only then did Bai Luochuan walk in.
This was the first time he was allowed to enter the small building after Mr. Bai kicked him out.
Old Bai was still sitting in the small living room, his clothes neatly dressed, his collar as straight as it had been for decades. Even without the military uniform, he still had an inherently tough aura.
Bai Luochuan sat down opposite him and said to him, "Grandpa, I went to the hospital and the doctor said he couldn't tell me. I refused to believe it, so I went to ask the dean."
Bai Lao raised his head and looked at him.
Bai Luochuan said slowly, "The dean is the grandfather who came with the lawyer that day. I recognized him at a glance. He kept asking him, and he told me that he and you are old friends. You have been receiving treatment for more than half a year without telling your family. You have to go every 15th of the month. It's... stomach cancer, right?"
Old Bai's expression was somewhat moved. After a long while, he nodded and said, "Yes."
Bai Luochuan's eyes turned red, and he sat there and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Mr. Bai sighed, "I know my own body. There's an old saying, 'At seventy-three or eighty-four, the King of Hell won't call you to die.' I'm already this old. I never thought I'd live this long, and I'm already content. When your grandmother was sick, I forced her to go to the hospital. I used all kinds of equipment and took a lot of medicine. There was a huge cut on her chest. At the end of her life, she begged me to take out the oxygen tube, saying that she didn't want oxygen anymore."
Old Bai looked out the window. The summer afternoon sun shone through the window. Half of his body was sitting in the light and the other half was in the shadow of the room, with some memories and loneliness on his face.
"I couldn't bear to leave her at that time and refused to listen. I know she has always resented me."
"I just thought, what's wrong with being alive? Look at this world more. It's not easy to have a peaceful country and people living in peace. Everyone can have enough food to eat. What's wrong with being alive?"
"I've seen everything I can and should see. When I was undergoing treatment last year, I thought that I had to hold on until my grandson was admitted to college. When I see my wife again, I can brag to her and ask her to stop blaming me. At least I took good care of you."
"Now that you've been admitted to university, I feel very satisfied and don't want to continue the treatment. You've lost more than 20 pounds in half a year. My old bones can't bear it any longer. It will be too ugly by then. I'm afraid it will scare you."
The old man put his rough hands on Bai Luochuan's face, wiped it twice, and sneered rudely: "How old are you? Are you still crying? Do you still have any dignity?"
Bai Luochuan nodded, then shook his head.
Old Bai was so angry that he laughed and said to him, "Be obedient. Grandpa will leave all these things to you. If you are unhappy with your life and your parents don't like you, just leave and don't put up with their anger."
Bai Luochuan looked up at the old man.
Mr. Bai's expression was as kind as ever, with a little cloudiness in his eyes, but they gave people strength like the earth and were his strongest support.
Bai Luochuan said to him: "Grandpa, do you... do you want to see me get married and start a family?"
Before Mr. Bai could reply, Bai Luochuan grabbed his hand, looked at him and said, "You want to see it, right? I promise, three years... No, two years will be enough. If you give me two years, I can finish my studies ahead of time, and then I can build a career on my own. If you give me a few more years, I promise to let you hold your great-grandchild!"
Bai Lao glared and said, "Nonsense, ta..." He mumbled the sound and said angrily, "How to give birth?!"
Bai Luochuan affirmed: "Yes!"
Old Mr. Bai glared at him and said nothing.
Bai Luochuan's eyes sparkled as he said to him, "Really? You believe in the power of science and technology. Didn't the newspapers write about how advanced test tube technology is? Oh, you left me so much money, aren't you afraid that I'll spend it lavishly? Especially those antiques. I'm clumsy, what if I accidentally smash one a day? What should I do then?"
Bai Lao: “… You dare!”
Bai Luochuan added: "And I've recently fallen in love with sports cars. If you're not watching me, I'll buy things recklessly. I'll buy four or five sports cars a month, and they'll all be gathering dust at home."
Old Bai looked up at him and was so angry that he wanted to take medicine.
Bai Luochuan squatted beside him, resting his head on the old man's knees, and whispered: "No matter how much money you give me, it's useless. You have to watch me."
Bai Lao raised his hand, placed his palm on his head and stroked it a few times, then sighed, "Got it."
Bai Luochuan lay there unable to get up.
Mr. Bai smiled and hit him lightly with his walking stick, saying to him, "Go, sign the contract before your father comes. When he comes, he will start to talk a lot of nonsense. I don't want to listen to him."
Bai Luochuan asked tentatively: "If I sign, will you come with me to Beijing for treatment?"
Old Bai hit him with his walking stick again and said, "Go, go! I really owe you in my last life, so I'll go with you, okay?"
Bai Luochuan then became happy, walked over in two or three steps, and signed his name on the document.
****
When Bai Jingrong came back, it was already midnight. He did not dare to disturb the old man, but only invited the doctor who was with the old man to the study to ask about the situation. When he came out of the study, his eyes were red. Birth, aging, illness and death are beyond the control of people, but as a family member, it is still difficult to accept such a thing.
The doctor said, "Luo Chuan has already tried to persuade him this day. I heard that the old man wants to give in. You can try to persuade him again tomorrow. I have been saying this for half a year, but the old man won't listen and won't let me tell you. I have no other choice..."
Bai Jingrong nodded and said, "I don't blame you. You have taken care of my father for many years. I should say thank you."
The doctor waved his hands. He had followed Mr. Bai for many years and had a deep affection for him.
Bai Jingrong did not sleep all night, and he did not feel sleepy at all. Luo Jiangjing comforted him until daybreak. She had also taken a long flight during the day, and then transferred to a specialist doctor. She was so tired that she slowly fell asleep. Bai Jingrong lay there feeling upset, so he simply got up and went out to walk around the old house.
He originally wanted to walk around twice, and when it was light, he would call his son to go to Old Bai to ask about his father's treatment. However, just as he reached the courtyard, he saw Bai Luochuan climbing over the wall from outside.
Bai Jingrong stood there, frowning and asked, "Where have you been? Didn't you come back all night?"
Bai Luochuan glanced at him, and the smile on his face disappeared. He walked into the yard without saying a word.
Bai Jingrong scolded, "Stop right there! Don't you have any manners? Can't you hear me when I talk to you?" He was worried about his father's illness and wanted to wait for his son to get up before calling him. But now that he saw that his father was seriously ill and his son was still going out to play in the middle of the night, he suddenly became furious. "Bai Luochuan, what time is it now? Why are you going out all night and not coming home? When you take exams in school, who are you showing off your grades to? Just because you have good grades, you can do whatever you want, right?"
Bai Jingrong scolded, "Stop right there! Don't you have any manners? Can't you hear me when I talk to you?" He was worried about his father's illness and wanted to wait for his son to get up before calling him. But now that he saw that his father was seriously ill and his son was still going out to play in the middle of the night, he suddenly became furious. "Bai Luochuan, what time is it now? Why are you going out all night and not coming home? When you take exams in school, who are you showing off your grades to? Just because you have good grades, you can do whatever you want, right?"