When Tao Xiuping rushed to the Second Hospital of the Medical University, the corridor was empty and silent, and there was no one there.
A few enthusiastic neighbors at the door were narrating the incident to the police, and Jiang Hesheng was leaning against the wall, talking to the doctor.
At the end of the corridor, at the door of the operating room, the teenager was sitting on a cold bench with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed, as if he couldn't hear any sounds around him.
The smell of disinfectant filled the air, and the vast cold white lights in the hospital stretched his shadow into a lonely and slender figure.
This was the first time Tao Xiuping saw Jiang Qihuai.
Before that, what he knew about him was limited to photos, the school's honor wall, and Tao Zhi's narrative.
The young man's face was pale and serious, his back arched low, and his jet-black forehead hair covered his eyebrows and eyes, casting a dark shadow.
He is a tall and straight boy.
Tao Xiuping looked at him from afar, the anger and anxious impulse to convict someone on the way here were forcibly suppressed by reason, and he suddenly remembered what Tao Zhi said that night.
Jiang Qihuai really didn't miss anything. Fate is like this, and people are born unequal. While he is enduring everything, he is also trying hard to get rid of everything.
He worked harder than anyone else, Tao Zhi was right, his selfishness was cruel to Jiang Qihuai.
But people are inherently selfish.
Jiang Hesheng was the first to see Tao Xiuping, he turned his head and called out "Uncle Tao".
Tao Xiuping turned around, forced himself to calm down and asked, "How is Zhizhi?"
"Most of them are skin injuries. There is a slightly deep wound on the back of the ear, which may need a few stitches." Jiang Hesheng hesitated, but said conservatively, "Don't worry, my mother is inside, she told you to rest assured, Zhi Branch will be fine."
Tao Xiu nodded slowly. Just as he was about to speak, Ji Fan rushed towards him like a gust of wind from the other side of the corridor.
He brushed Tao Xiuping's shoulder and rushed over, slammed into it, but as if he didn't feel it, he walked straight towards the person at the end of the corridor.
Jiang Qihuai unconsciously raised his head, his light brown eyes were calm, and he looked at him blankly, without any emotion.
Ji Fan rushed in front of him, grabbed his collar, raised his other hand high, and punched him hard in the face.
With a dull sound, Jiang Qihuai tilted his head, and even half of his body leaned sideways. He bumped into the bench and made a piercing sound, and then fell to the ground.
Ji Fan looked down at him from above, panting heavily.
He can't beat Jiang Qihuai.
He knew it from the first time they met in the attached middle school. He found trouble three or two times, and he had never punched him so smoothly. But when it really hit him on the face, he didn't feel half of the joy he had imagined.
Ji Fan squatted in front of him, staring at him with clenched teeth: "I know you are miserable, and you are also a victim," he whispered, "But what did Zhizhi do wrong?"
Jiang Qihuai remained motionless and lowered his head. After a long while, he slowly raised his hand, wiped the cracked and bleeding lips with his thumb, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry."
Ji Fan's eyes were red.
"I know you are a good person, so I never stopped you, she ran out to find you, and I will help her cover at Dad's place."
The young man grabbed his hair, and suddenly buried his head deeply on his knees: "I thought you could do it, I thought that if it was you, you would take good care of her no matter how fucked up it was, I trust you so much, and I hold our whole family together The treasure in the palm of my hand is handed over to you..."
Jiang Qihuai's Adam's apple twitched: "I'm sorry."
He knew that Jiang Qihuai could not be blamed for this.
But there was a fire in his heart, which was crackling and intensified, so that he couldn't find an outlet to vent.
It's obvious that he didn't like her very much, and it's obvious that Lao Tao told him to look at her a little bit during this time.
"Fuck," Ji Fan cursed in a low voice, took a deep breath, rubbed his face vigorously, and raised his head, "How is Grandpa?"
Jiang Qihuai raised his head: "It's okay."
The bones of the old man have always been strong, but the bones of the elderly are brittle, and his forearm was broken when he fell into the snow.
When Jiang Qihuai entered the ward, Jiang Qinghe just woke up, and the nurse next to him was covering him with a quilt, and said to him in a gentle voice: "Your hands are like this, so why don't you run around, just lie down and rest for a while." Let's wait, when your grandson comes, don't you make him anxious if he can't find anyone?"
Jiang Qinghe smiled: "I want to see how the little girl with me is doing."
"It's okay, I'm alive and well," the nurse comforted him, then turned her head and saw Jiang Qihuai, "here, your grandson is here."
Jiang Qinghe turned his head and looked over.
The old man's gray hair was a little messy, and the young old man who usually looked energetic seemed to be a few years older in an instant. His lips moved and he called him: "Ah Huai..."
Jiang Qihuai walked over quickly, stood by the bed, and lowered his body to help him pull up the quilt: "Are you awake? How do you feel? Do you feel uncomfortable?"
"How's Miss Tao?" Grandpa Jiang asked.
Jiang Qihuai paused with his fingers tucked under the quilt: "She's asleep, she's fine."
Grandpa Jiang seemed to be finally relieved. He collapsed and murmured, "It's fine, it's fine..."
"I saw her, she looked at me, I want her to go away and leave me alone," the old man said in a trembling voice, "but I can't speak, I didn't say it."
Jiang Qihuai squeezed the quilt with his fingers, tightening it bit by bit.
Jiang Qinghe's eyes were red, and tears shed: "My old life is dead, there is no pity, she is still so young, what if something happens, grandpa... Grandpa failed to protect our family's important Huai. people."
Jiang Qihuai closed his eyes, unable to speak a word.
It was already late at night when Tao Zhi woke up.
The strength of the anesthetic hadn't completely passed, I could only vaguely feel a little bit of sharp pain, and my arms stretched to the fingertips were a little numb, and I couldn't control them.
There was silence in the ward, the lights were turned off, only the light from the corridor spilled in leisurely through the square glass.
She lay on the bed, was quiet for a moment, and slowly sorted out the chaotic information in her mind.
Before his consciousness and vision were completely plunged into darkness, Tao Zhi felt something hit his face.
Warm, piping hot.
He cried.
She stared blankly at the ceiling in a daze. For a moment, she struggled to sit up and turned her head with difficulty.
Tao Xiuping sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her. He held her hand, and his voice was tired and hoarse: "Are you awake?"
Tao Zhi licked his dry lips: "Father..."
Ji Fanwo woke up with a start on the small sofa at the end of the bed. He jumped up instantly and walked over in two steps: "Are you awake? Is there any pain? Are you dizzy or not? Are you thirsty? Are you hungry?"
Tao Zhi: "..."
Ji Fan stretched out a finger and hung it in front of her, looking at her nervously: "How much is this?"
Tao Zhi rolled his eyes and said hoarsely, "I'm not a fool, I'm crazy."
Ji Fan let out a long sigh of relief, and sat down on the edge of the bed, his whole body relaxed: "I'm scared to death."
Tao Xiuping poured a glass of warm water and handed it over.
Tao Zhi took it, and gulped down a whole glass of water.
Her throat, which was so painful that it seemed to be burning, felt comfortable. She held the cup, looked at Tao Xiuping, and was about to speak.
"That grandpa is fine," Tao Xiuping knew what she wanted to ask, raised his hand to straighten her messy hair, and lowered his voice, "Zhizhi protected him well, Zhizhi is very brave."
Tao Zhi blinked, and suddenly felt a little aggrieved and scared very dullly.
A sixteen-year-old girl is afraid no matter how naughty she is.
At the moment of rushing forward, Tao Zhi trembled with fear.
She thought she was good at fighting, and she was not afraid of pain. She had fought with people countless times since she was a child, but this time was different.
She couldn't resist the power and oppression of an adult at all.
Tao Zhi resisted the urge to cry, and stretched out his hand towards Tao Xiuping.
Tao Xiuping hugged her.
She was buried in his arms, leaning on his warm and generous chest. She seldom felt hugs from her father. When she was young, she would coquettishly sneak into her father's arms.
Tao Xiuping stroked her hair.
His child huddled in his arms in a small ball, as if she had returned to her long-lost childhood in an instant.
The pretty little milk dumpling carved in pink and jade, when she sees him, she will call her father to run over and ask him to hug her.
Since when did the communication between the two of them be limited to, she called to tell him what happened recently, told him what trouble she had gotten into recently, and he just objectively evaluated whether she did it right or not .
At that time, she should be very sad.
In the process of growing up, she has heard too much truth and right and wrong, and she only wants to hear a comforting sentence that can be acted like a baby.
"In the past, I always felt that I should use everything to teach you the principles of life, how to deal with problems, teach you not to be impulsive, and teach you to grow up."
Tao Xiuping patted her on the back soothingly, and he sighed: "Father's Zhizhi grew up without paying attention, and can already protect others, like a little hero."
When Tao Zhi heard these words, the pain, fear, and loneliness that Tao Zhi had suppressed for a long time burst out at that moment.
She tightly grasped Tao Xiuping's clothes with her fingers, and buried herself in his arms, weeping wantonly.
Outside the door of the ward, the young man loosened his fingers holding the doorknob little by little. He stood with his lips downcast for a moment, then turned and left.
Tao Zhi's injury healed quickly.
After the anesthetic had completely worn off, she finally felt the pain, but it was still within the tolerable range, and she didn't show it. She didn't want to make everyone worry more.
Ji Fan pulled her through all the inspections up and down, and after confirming that there was nothing else, he finally felt relieved.
Tao Xiuping at the school had already asked her for leave, and Li Shuangjiang, Fu Xiling and the others all rushed in early in the morning on the weekend break.
Li Shuangjiang was still jumping up and down bluffing, not caring about the class difference between the boss and the younger brother, as soon as he rushed into the ward, he scolded her head and face.
"I know you fight well, and you are invincible in the experiment, but can that be the same? You are a social person! You call the police and it's over, why are you rushing forward! You can be a hero!"
Tao Zhi raised his hand, and lightly touched the place behind the ear with his fingertips, where the stitches had just been removed after a week of raising, and there was no pain anymore.
"Where you can do it, just call the police and watch," she muttered softly, "I'm fine."
Li Shuangjiang was so angry that his face was red and his neck was thick: "You are awesome! You are really the best in the universe!"
Fu Xiling sighed, and silently stretched out his hand to pinch his arm, for fear that he would say something that shouldn't be said again.
Li Shuangjiang and the others didn't know what was going on, it was only because of Ji Fan's simple words to her just now that she knew that it was Jiang Qihuai's grandfather who had the accident.
Several people made a fuss for a while, but they were afraid of disturbing her rest, so they didn't stay too long, got up and left.
The room fell silent again.
Tao Zhi suppressed his smile, lowered his head, and glanced at the mobile phone beside the bed.
For a whole week, she didn't see Jiang Qihuai, and even all the WeChat messages she sent to him were ignored.
Every time she asked, Tao Xiuping would just tell her that there was nothing wrong, and she didn't have to worry about these things now.
Tao Zhi can only follow the routine from Ji Fan.
Jiang Zhi is suspected of intentional injury and is still in detention for the time being. Grandpa Jiang is not injured and is fine. Jiang Qihuai is taking care of him.
Tao Zhi wanted to ask him what the ward number of Grandpa Jiang was, but Ji Fan refused to tell her.
The door of the ward was gently pushed open, and Tao Zhi instantly raised his head, staring straight at the light green door with his dark eyes.
When Ji Fan came back after seeing off people, he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
When Tao Zhi saw it was him, he was disappointed: "Ah..."
"What? What?" Ji Fan said angrily, "It's me! I've let you down."
"How can I?" Tao Zhi opened her eyes and said nonsense, she looked at him flatteringly, "A Fan, I want to eat a dragon fruit."
"...You can order me now, and I will abuse you when I get home from the hospital tomorrow." Ji Fan rolled his eyes and went to peel the dragon fruit for her.
Tao Zhi watched the boy silently run to the cabinet to cut the fruit with a knife, then lowered his head again.
She pouted quietly.
Jiang Qihuai is heartless.
Obviously in the same hospital!
Doesn't he even have time to come and see her! ! !
On the day Tao Zhi was discharged from the hospital, the gloomy weather finally saw light.
The warm sunlight melted a thick layer of snow on the surface, and he could have been discharged from the hospital a day earlier, but Tao Xiuping and Ji Fan refused to let him say anything, so Tao Zhi was held down for two more days.
The little girl was alive and kicking again, but occasionally she felt a little depressed, the reason was well known to everyone, but no one mentioned it.
When Ji Fan ran to line up to go through the discharge procedures, Tao Xiuping glanced at her: "Let's go."
Tao Zhi came back to his senses: "Aren't you waiting for Ah Fan?"
"Come back later," Tao Xiuping said, "Dad will take you to see someone."
Tao Zhi thought that he was probably going to see Grandpa Jiang.
She regained her spirits all of a sudden, obediently followed Tao Xiuping around the green square of the hospital, walked to another inpatient department, and went up to the third floor.
The smell in the hospital was not to my liking, it was busy and messy everywhere and the sense of quietness and cleanliness contradicted it, they walked through the long corridor, Tao Zhi looked up at the sign hanging on it.
Radiology Inpatient Unit.
She froze.
Walking to the door of the ward at the end, Tao Xiuping stopped and turned his head: "This is the room."
Tao Zhi followed and looked in.
The door of the ward was left open. Inside was a very standard single room with two beds, and a woman was lying on one of the beds.
Ji Jin was half sitting on the bed, she was wearing the snow-white clothes of the hospital, her face was as pale as the clothes on her body, and she looked thinner than the last time Tao Zhi saw her.
She was holding a bottle in one hand, and a colored pen in the other, and she was drawing something intently on the notebook.
Next to her, a five or six-year-old boy, also wearing a white hospital gown, was half lying on the side of the bed, obediently supporting his head and watching her draw.
Ji Jin's voice was gentle: "Look, the lion is drawn like this, and the ears should be short."
The little boy blinked and said cheerfully: "I can draw now, thank you Aunt Ji!"
Ji Jin smiled and patted his head: "Does Li like lions?"
"I like it!" The little boy shook his arms, "The lion looks very strong, it won't get sick, and it won't go to the doctor like Auntie and Ah Li."
As he spoke, his expression became unhappy, with a wrinkled little face: "Ah Li is going to take that light again tomorrow, it hurts so much, and it hurts for several days after taking the light."
"But in that way, Ah Li's illness will be cured and he will become a lion." Ji Jin said.
"Okay then," the little boy said reluctantly. He raised his head and asked cautiously, "Then auntie will be fine under that light? Does auntie hurt?"
Ji Jin was silent for a while, and the smile on his face faded a bit.
She looked out the window, was quiet for a few seconds, and then smiled: "Well, Auntie will be fine too."
The little boy was happy again. He picked up the little book for drawing and stood up: "Then I'll show it to my mother! Come play with auntie later!"
He stumbled and ran out, and Ji Jin's eyes slid to the door.
Tao Zhi suddenly came back to her senses, she subconsciously took two steps back, barely avoiding her sight.
She leaned against the cold wall of the corridor, and the sunlight shrouded her body through the window, which was as cold as nothing.
"What... do you mean?" She stared at Tao Xiuping with wide eyes, "What's wrong with Mom?"
Tao Xiuping silently looked away, his eyes were red, and after a long while, he whispered in a difficult voice: "In the advanced stage, it has already spread to the lymph, and now we can only rely on radiotherapy and chemotherapy to inhibit the further spread of cancer cells."
"I was, I always wanted to tell you and Xiaofan, but your mother won't let me tell you no matter what."
Before Tao Zhi realized it, tears had slipped out of his eyes one step at a time.
Ji Fan was sent back so suddenly.
The thin back of the woman when she came last time.
Someone who can never be reached.
Tao Xiuping inexplicably began to stay at home for a long time, and his tired face became more and more tired and silent.
Obviously there is so much information.
Obviously there are so many things that are wrong.
But she didn't know anything, she didn't notice anything, she and Ji Fan were like two fools, complaining about their little troubles every day, feeling that the whole world was jumping up and down unfairly.
The little boy in the next ward ran out again holding his drawing book. He opened the door of Ji Jin's ward, but didn't close it.
The woman in the ward was looking out of the window quietly. In the moment of silence, Tao Zhi heard her murmuring, "I don't know if A Fan and Zhi Zhi are doing well now."
The little boy jumped over: "Aunt Ji! You teach me how to draw tigers again!"
Ji Jin was interrupted by him, came back to his senses, and responded with a smile.
Tao Zhi covered her eyes with one hand, she leaned against the wall, slid down little by little, and squatted down.
She bit her lip tightly, trying to suppress the almost uncontrollable overflow of crying.