Lin Yao gritted his teeth and worked hard all morning. Although he felt very uncomfortable, he didn't want to mess up his life because of this matter. If he couldn't even handle this, how could he prove to Guan Ze that he was capable of taking on the responsibility.
At lunchtime, he didn't follow the group to the restaurant. Everyone could see that he looked bad. Mr. Li took the initiative to give him half a day off so that he could go to the hospital: "You were sick yesterday. You should take a day off today and come back. There isn't too much work."
"I didn't feel like I had a fever yesterday," Lin Yao grinned, "So I'll take a leave of absence this afternoon."
"Don't drink milk tea," Jiang Yifei added, "It makes you get angry."
"Um."
Everyone in the company was very calm. There was no change because of Guan Ze's leave. It was not a big deal for a director to take a leave of absence. Only Lin Yao felt a lot more empty without Guan Ze in the company.
Holding the phone, he didn't know who to send the text message to. He didn't go to the tea room today. That was where he and Guan Ze met every day. There were too many places where he could feel countless memories. If he couldn't hold it in, he wouldn't even want to go to the toilet. Although he and Guan Ze didn't meet in the toilet many times, he would think of it...
After leaving the company, he did not go home but drove directly to the welfare home.
He wanted to meet Lu Teng to see if there was any news about Guan Ze.
Lu Teng’s school is very close to the welfare home, and he goes back to the welfare home every day for lunch and rest.
When Lin Yao saw Lu Teng, Lu Teng had just finished his meal and was playing with some kids in the yard. As soon as he saw him, he rushed over and said, "Brother!"
"Good boy," Lin Yao squatted down and hugged him, "You're not asleep yet."
"I'll sleep in a while. Auntie said it's not good for your health to sleep right after eating." Lu Teng twisted happily in his arms, "Brother, why are you here?"
"I came by to see you," Lin Yao looked at Lu Teng. Lu Teng didn't look like Guan Ze had said anything to him. "Has your dad been here these past two days?"
"No, Aunt Lu said that Daddy has to go on a business trip for a while and can't come to see me," Lu Teng smiled and hugged his neck, "Brother, take me out to play on the weekend."
"Okay, I'll go tell Aunt Lu." Lin Yao took out a bag of chocolates he bought for Lu Teng on the way and gave it to him.
Lin Yao had only met Aunt Lu once. When he entered the welfare home’s office and saw several aunts eating, he almost didn’t recognize them. It was Aunt Lu who greeted him: “Xiao Lin, why are you here?”
"I'm passing by to see Lu Teng," Lin Yao followed Aunt Lu to the side. Aunt Lu was actually quite young. He hesitated for a moment and called her sister, "Sister Lu, has Guan Ze contacted you?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "He came a few days ago to buy some clothes for Lu Teng, and then he said the company sent him out of town and he wouldn't be able to come for a while. What's wrong?"
"No, I just want to ask. He can't come. Can I come over when I'm free? Can I take Lu Teng out?"
"Then you have to register. We also have to consider the safety of the children."
"OK."
Guan Ze did not leave any clues in the welfare home. After Lin Yao left the welfare home, he sat in the car in a daze for a while. He felt dizzy and the feeling of fever was uncomfortable.
Leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes for a while, Lin Yao felt that he could almost fall asleep sitting here.
The phone rang. Lin Yao grabbed the phone from his pocket, pulling out the lining of his pocket. He didn't even have time to look at who it was before the call was answered: "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Lin Zong's voice came from the phone.
"Outside." Lin Yao was a little disappointed when he heard Lin Zong's voice. Although he knew that Guan Ze would not call him, he still had a little hope in his heart that a miracle would suddenly happen.
"Come back home." Lin Zong said.
"No, I have something else to do."
"return."
"I said I had something to do. I will definitely go home after work this afternoon." Lin Yao leaned over the steering wheel.
"Here is a list of Guan Ze's calls over the past three months. Do you want it?" Lin Zong said calmly.
“What?” Lin Yao raised his head abruptly, not caring about the golden sparks flying in front of his eyes, and shouted, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I’ll be back right away!”
When Lin Yao rushed into the house, he didn't see Lin Zong. Only his mother was sitting in the living room watching TV with a tissue in her hand.
"Mom," Lin Yaoding stood at the door. He hadn't thought of a reason for coming back so suddenly. After hesitating for a moment, he still asked anxiously, "Where's my brother?"
"Upstairs." Mom waved the tissue in her hand towards the upstairs.
"Oh," Lin Yao took off his shoes and ran upstairs barefoot. After running a few steps, he realized that his mother's reaction was different from usual. He suddenly felt his hair stand up. He stopped and turned around to look at his mother, "Mom..."
"Oh, my flowers are still soaking in the basin." Mom suddenly jumped up, ran through the living room into the backyard in her slippers.
"Come up." Lin Zong's voice came from the room upstairs.
"Does my mother know about this?" Lin Yao ran into the room and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah." Lin Zong turned around in his chair, holding a roll of printed forms in his hand.
"I..." Lin Yao staggered, his legs went limp, he quickly leaned against the wall to avoid falling to the ground, "How did she know... I'll go tell her... I really..."
"Come here," Lin Zong hooked the chair next to him with his foot, "Don't look for mom yet. She has lost her memory. If you look for her now, she will say she has lost her memory and doesn't know who you are."
"But..." Lin Yao frowned. His mother's expression just now made him feel distressed when he thought about it.
"Let her take her time," Lin Zong shook the list in his hand, "Take a look at this."
Lin Yao's hands were shaking a little. There were two lists, which were the call records of Guan Ze's two mobile phones within three months. The list for work numbers was very long and dragged on the ground. The list for personal numbers was much shorter. Lin Yao took a look and saw that they were all his numbers.
He looked through the numbers and saw a small word marked next to a number, "Ning", and below that another number marked "Zhang", and several numbers with different surnames.
Lin Yao was excited. Ning Juan's number! But he quickly came to his senses: "How did you know Guan Ze's number?"
"You can find out anything you want to know," Lin Zong lit a cigarette and held it between his lips. "Is it useful?"
"It works." Lin Yao took out his cell phone with trembling hands and dialed Ning Juan's number. After pressing the dial button, he hesitated for a moment, turned around and left Lin Zong's room and hid in his own room.
"Hello, who is this?" Ning Juan's voice came from the phone.
"Hello Sister Ning, I..." Lin Yao leaned against the door. He had always wanted to find out about Guan Ze, and the person most likely to know was Ning Juan. But after hearing Ning Juan's voice, he suddenly panicked. He was afraid of hearing something that he could not bear.
"Lin Yao?" Ning Juan asked with some surprise.
"It's me, sister. Can you recognize my voice?" Lin Yao was a little surprised.
"Yes, I can tell from anyone who has spoken once," Ning Juan smiled, "not to mention you, is there something wrong?"
"I..." Lin Yao gritted his teeth, "Sister Ning, do you know where Guan Ze went?"
"Guan Ze?" Ning Juan was stunned. "What happened to Guan Ze?"
"You really don't know..." Lin Yao's heart suddenly became empty, his legs were too weak to support him, he slowly slid down the door and sat on the ground, his voice lowered, "Sister, you are not lying to me, are you? You really don't know where Guan Ze went?"
"We rarely contact each other, and I don't know his whereabouts," Ning Juan said anxiously, "What's going on?"
"He disappeared suddenly," Lin Yao smiled. Guan Ze was really ruthless. Even Ning Juan, whom he regarded as a relative, had no news of him. "Maybe he didn't want me to find him."
Lin Yao didn't listen carefully to what Ning Juan said afterwards. After hanging up the phone, he sat on the ground in a daze for a long time until Lin Zong pushed the door open. He stood up and looked at Lin Zong: "It's useless. It's useless to find anyone. He didn't even tell Ning Juan, so he certainly wouldn't tell anyone else... Why is he like this..."
"Are there any other numbers? Don't you want to ask again?" Lin Zong looked at him.
"I don't know who the other people are," Lin Yao felt very thirsty and walked slowly downstairs to the living room. He wanted to drink some water. "I can't just call and ask for Guan Ze. What if I cause him any trouble? I called Ning Juan because I know who Ning Juan is. I want to find him, but I can't cause him any trouble, right..."
"Lin Yao," Lin Zong followed behind him with a frown, "You stay at home. I'll go to the hospital to ask."
"I'll go too, but will the doctor tell me the patient's information? Isn't it confidential? Shouldn't we pretend to be police officers investigating a case..." Lin Yao felt his legs getting weak, and the stairs became elastic. After going down a few steps, he saw his mother standing at the bottom of the stairs. His mother looked at him with worry and pain in her eyes, which made him feel a pain in his heart, "Mom..."
He wanted to say sorry, wanted to ask for forgiveness, and also wanted to ask mom, please don’t forget who I am…
But he didn't have time to say these words. The stairs were so soft that he felt like he was not stepping on anything when he stepped on them. Then he fell to his knees.
It's over! Lin Yao struggled twice when his knee hit the stairs. He didn't want to pounce in front of his mother in such an ugly posture, but even when his knee hit the stairs, he felt no pain except for the strong vibration.
"Yaoyao—" Mom screamed and stretched out a leg in panic.
My mom is so awesome!
The last thing Lin Yao saw when he fell uncontrollably down the stairs was his mother's thick fluffy slippers. His entire face hit the slippers and he had no other memory.
"Mr. Guan, your medicines have been divided into two types: before and after meals. Remember to take them," the nurse walked into the ward. "The surgery time has been set. Your relatives will need to sign in a while..."
"I'll sign it myself." Guan Ze stood at the window and took off the headphones he had been wearing.
"No relatives coming?" The nurse looked at him in surprise.
"No relatives." Guan Ze returned to the bedside, picked up the medicine and looked at it.
"Okay then. If you have nothing to do these few days, walk around and keep a good mood," the nurse walked out of the ward. "This operation is not difficult, and it will be performed by an expert. Don't feel burdened."
"Well, thank you." Guan Ze responded and sat down on the hospital bed, leaning back. He had no burden. What burden could he have now
His cell phone was ringing, so he took it out from the drawer of the cabinet next to the ward. This was a new number he had registered, and only Zhang Xing knew it.
"Angel." Guan Ze answered the phone.
"How do you feel these two days?" Zhang Xing asked.
"It's okay. This single room you arranged for me is quite good." Guan Ze looked around. This single room also had a small living room and a balcony. Guan Ze felt like he was here for a vacation.
"I'll go over before your surgery. The old man said that your location is pretty good from a benign point of view, and it's not next to or squeezing the nerves. The success rate is very high, and it generally won't recur."
"Yeah." Guan Ze paused the MP4 in his hand and put it aside. The camera froze on the scene where Lin Yao put his face in front of the camera and laughed.
"You sound a little listless," Zhang Xing smiled, "Don't worry, you're not someone who's afraid of this."
"It's not about this," Guan Ze sighed, "It's nothing, don't worry."
"You can't worry about anything else. Don't let it affect your mood. Just focus on getting well for the surgery now. Think about other things after the surgery is over."
"Got it," Guan Ze tapped the screen of the MP4 player and turned it off. "Has anyone come to your hospital to inquire about me in the past two days?"
"No, don't worry. I won't tell you where you are. Don't you trust me?"
After hanging up the phone, Guan Ze rested his arms on his head and stared at the ceiling in a daze. He hadn't slept well in the past two days and kept having dreams. He felt very tired when he woke up.
He took the desk calendar and calculated the time. There was still a week before the operation. After calculating, he felt a little funny. What's the point of calculating the time? He hadn't thought about what would happen after the operation.
He was not worried about the surgery. The only thing he couldn't help but think about every day was Lin Yao.
He couldn't imagine the scene when Lin Yao faced Lin's mother, and he didn't want such a thing to happen. He didn't know how much impact his departure would have on Lin Yao. The only hurdle he couldn't overcome was his longing for home.
Guan Ze took the MP4 player, turned it on, and put on the earphones.
There is a TV in the ward, but there are only eight channels. Even people who are not bored would feel bored after turning the remote control around for a few times. He usually wears headphones and listens to Lin Yao's voice and video on loop.
It was unpleasant to listen to, but it miraculously made him feel at ease to some extent. The strange combination of pain and calm made him inexplicably unable to stop listening to it. Even when Lin Yao was the only one listening to it at night, he would still play it over and over again as if he had obsessive-compulsive disorder.
When Lin Yao woke up, the first thing he saw was the IV pole beside him, then he saw his mother's bright red cotton pajamas and her anxious face.
"Mom." He called softly.
"Hey, mom is here," Mom burst into tears, squeezed his hand hard, turned her head and said to Lin Zong who was standing behind her, "It's great that he still recognizes me."
"Ask him if he knows who I am." Lin Zong smiled.
"Do you know who is that person behind me?" Mom touched Lin Yao's face and kissed him hard on the forehead twice.
"My brother," Lin Yao forced a smile towards his mother, "Mom, I..."
"No more words, nothing more," my mother shook her head desperately, "We won't say anything, just be well."
“… I’m sorry.” Lin Yao closed his eyes. He didn’t want to cry, but his mother’s warm tears dripped onto his hands. He suddenly couldn’t hold it back, and tears slipped out from the corners of his eyes.
"It's my fault," Mom touched his face, her voice trembling slightly, "I didn't think about it for you..."
"Mom," Lin Zong pinched his mother's shoulder from behind, "Don't talk about this, or he will cry all day long."
"I won't say anything more," the mother touched Lin Yao's forehead, "Son, you have a fever, but I just took it and it's almost gone. Let's stay in the hospital for one night, and you'll be fine tomorrow."
"Hospital," Lin Yao suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Lin Zong, "Brother."
"I'll go ask." Lin Zong turned and walked out.
"No," Lin Yao stopped him, "I'll ask myself, then I'll know how to answer this question."
"Why are you asking now?" Lin Zong pointed at the IV bottle. "After this one is finished, there will be another one."
"Then ask me after we're done," Lin Yao bit his lip. "It doesn't matter if I don't do this kind of thing myself, I'll definitely regret it later."
This hospital is the closest to home and also the largest hospital in the city. Guan Ze received medical treatment here that day.
Lin Yao stood in front of the window on the first floor of the hospital and looked carefully. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he thought maybe he could gain something from it. It was impossible for him to ask in every department, and he didn't know what was wrong with Guan Ze.
After hanging up the water, he studied Guan Ze's call records. On the day Guan Ze came to see the doctor, his personal mobile phone only called one number. Lin Zong marked a word "Zhang" after that number. The owner's surname was Zhang.
There was no one named Zhang in the first window, so Lin Yao moved a little and started looking in the second window.
Zhang Xing.
Cardiovascular Medicine.
There must be no one in the cardiovascular department right now. When Lin Yao woke up, it was already night. He could only stay in the hospital ward, suppressing his emotion, whether it was excitement or something else.
In fact, there is no need to be hospitalized for a fever. It's just that his mother is too nervous. In the past, he would definitely urge him to go home. He felt uncomfortable because there were other people in the ward, but today he lay on the bed patiently. He would go to look for Zhang Xing early tomorrow morning.
"You guys should go back," Lin Yao looked at his mother who had been sitting by the bed, "You're still wearing pajamas, it's so cold."
"It's not cold," Mom pulled out her inner clothes from her collar, "I'm wearing the down liner your dad bought for me. I was so anxious that I was sweating when you didn't wake up."
"There's nothing to do right now. I'll just sleep here for one night. You guys should go back, otherwise my dad will get worried." Lin Yao looked at Lin Zong again.
"Don't worry about him. He called me earlier to ask about it. I asked him to solve the problem of eating by himself. I said we were shopping and didn't have time to pay attention to him." Mom waved her hand.
Mentioning his father, Lin Yao's heart ached again. His father didn't know about his own affairs yet. If he knew whether his mother was so upset because of him or because of being with a man... Lin Yao recalled the scene when Lin Zong was beaten by his father when he was a child, and his hands trembled a little: "Mom, my dad..."
My mother frowned and sighed, then whispered, "Let your father talk to me later. I'll go deal with him."
"No," Lin Yao sat up, "I'll handle my own affairs. Didn't Dad say that he has the final say on major matters? Although our family has never had any major incidents..."
Lin Yao's voice gradually lowered as he spoke. Although buying a villa was not a big deal for his family under the management of his mother, this kind of thing would not be a small matter in anyone's family. His father loved him and one of the reasons why he worked so hard to make money was that "Lin Yao probably won't make much money, so I have to save more for him and my grandson." He couldn't imagine his father's reaction.
"Don't worry," the mother stroked his head with a smile, "Mom and dad will eventually lose to their children. In the end, we still hope that you are well. We think that's good, but you don't. You think it's good this way. Even if we don't understand, we will still let go in the end."
Lin Yao fell asleep exhausted amidst all the worries and anxieties. All the pain he had been suppressing was released in his dream. He woke up several times in the middle of the night because of the heartache and almost thought he was going to have a heart attack.
He stared at the moon outside the window, listening to the groaning of the person in the next bed who was kept in the hospital for observation for some unknown reason. He didn't even know when he fell asleep again.
When he woke up in the morning, his head was a little swollen and his body was still a little weak, but he no longer felt the discomfort he felt yesterday. Lin Yao looked at his phone and saw that Lin Zong had sent him a text message asking him to wait in the hospital.
He got out of bed, went to the bathroom to tidy up his clothes and hair so that he would look less hungover, then walked out of the ward with his cell phone, crossed the outpatient hall and entered the elevator.
The lights in the Department of Cardiology were not on yet, and there was only one person standing in front of the water dispenser with a cup in his hand.
Lin Yao stood at the door and looked at the man. He asked nervously, "Excuse me, is Doctor Zhang Xing here?"
"It's me." The man turned and looked at him.
"Hello." Lin Yao pressed the dial button on his mobile phone, and two seconds later, the phone rang.
"Sorry, wait a moment." Zhang Xing took out his cell phone.
Lin Yao pressed the hang-up button, and the ringing stopped abruptly. He leaned against the door frame and said, "Can you tell me what's wrong with Guan Ze? Where is he?"