What is the concept of a month? Some people say it is just a word, some people think it is "four weeks", some people think it is "thirty days", or even more hours.
If you count time in seconds, you will find that time passes more and more slowly. Wen Jialuo, who had just been discharged from the hospital, counted time in this way at first, but gradually he could no longer bear this torture.
She and the old lady had an accident on the same day, which became an opportunity. The sons of the Wen family who did not often return to the old house tried their best to make time to come back and accompany the old man and the old lady. Wen Baohua and Wen Yu simply moved back to the old house. From then on, Xia Bang lived a life of crossing half the city to go to work every day.
But he was willing to do so. Watching his wife breathing fresh air all day in the old house that was like a small park and eating nutritious meals for pregnant women that were made fresh daily, he would naturally be in a happier mood with his family around. He could also devote himself to his career and provide the best material conditions for the baby to be born.
And with him around, there’s more joy in the old house.
But the only person who couldn't laugh was Wen Jialuo, because if she laughed it would hurt her wound. So every time Xia Bang told jokes with his hands and feet, Wen Jialuo would hold her phone and ignore him.
Wen Jialuo had indeed never seen Xu Shiqi again since he was discharged from the hospital and returned home. The days of recuperation were boring and idle, which was a state that would make people feel moldy.
Luo Linyi was only concerned about her daughter every day, fearing that if she didn't take good care of her, her already thin daughter would become even more hunched. Sometimes she would wake up from her sleep at night, because in her dream, her beautiful daughter turned into a terrifying skeleton. She never dared to talk about this dream, but it turned into a hundred times motivation, and she boiled all kinds of tonic soups and then watched her daughter drink them herself.
She had thought her daughter would be disgusted by the different smells of the decoctions, and even thought of more than a dozen reasons to persuade her earnestly. But she didn't expect her daughter to just drink the bowl every time, never asking what the medicine was, and not even frowning.
But the more her daughter cooperated with her and did what she wanted, the more nervous she became.
She always felt her daughter was too calm.
Every day I either eat and sleep, and the rest of the time I hold my phone to play games and read novels.
I never saw her make a phone call, nor did I see her looking out the window with a worried look on her face. It was nothing like what the old lady said, that she had someone she loved.
How come the person she liked had never appeared before? Even from her daughter's behavior, she couldn't detect the existence of such a person - if it weren't for the conversation between her and the old lady on the plane.
But Luo Linyi didn't dare to ask. This daughter was as good at keeping silent as her father. If she didn't want to talk, you wouldn't get the answer you wanted even if you pried her mouth open.
Of course, she still remembered what her daughter said, that she would tell her the secrets in her heart and then need her help. Her daughter said that with a smile on her face, but she couldn't hide the pessimism in her words. She didn't understand what kind of feelings tortured her daughter to this extent. She didn't understand it before, and she still doesn't understand it now.
Occasionally she would ask a question tentatively, but her daughter would stare blankly at something as if she hadn't heard it, and then she would belatedly ask what she had said. This obvious rejection made Luo Linyi swallow the words she wanted to ask, and then wait quietly.
She thought that she would know that if her daughter couldn't handle it, she would eventually ask her for help, and she should be her best way out.
In fact, what Luo Linyi didn't know was that Wen Jialuo was not playing games or reading novels when she held her mobile phone. She usually only did one thing, which was sending text messages.
I turned off the text message alert tone, and even the vibration. My thumbs were almost numb from pressing the buttons, but my heart was soft.
The person on the other end of the text message was Xu Shiqi.
Wen Jialuo had been missing her since she was discharged from the hospital, but she couldn't go to where her heart was, so she had to use some tools. She wanted to call, but couldn't. Xu Shiqi couldn't speak yet, and she didn't know when she would slowly recover her voice, so from the beginning she just sent her text messages to comfort her.
Xu Shiqi seemed to be waiting for her message at any time. Every time she sent a text message, she would receive a receipt immediately, which made Wen Jialuo feel a little better, as if the woman was right beside her. As for Xia Bang's jokes that were meaningless, she simply treated them as background noise.
As the days passed, the pain in her chest gradually subsided. Wen Jialuo began to think about which would be easier to recover, the vocal cords or the ribs. As she thought about it, she made a phone call.
It only took a few seconds for the call to be connected, but no one spoke.
No syllables, whether hoarse or simple, came out, only the sound of gentle breathing. Wen Jialuo felt that the blood in his body suddenly turned cold.
"Xu Shiqi..." Wen Jialuo called softly.
There was no voice from the other end, but there were gentle tapping sounds, one, two, three, like fingernails tapping on the phone, with a slight crisp sound.
Wen Jialuo's mind just buzzed, and she hung up the phone abruptly. Then, she panted and trembled as she sent a message that she had always wanted to ask but had been waiting to hear a surprise.
Why can’t I speak? Can’t I make any sound
This time the reply came a little slowly, but just as unhurried as the knocking sound.
There's no use getting anxious about this kind of thing.
How can I not be anxious? Have you gone to the hospital for a follow-up check? Do you want a more detailed examination? That's your voice. How can I not be anxious
If I can't speak, you don't love me anymore
Wen Jialuo wanted to strangle the woman on the other end of the text message, but what he wanted to do more was to hold her tightly in his arms, preferably blocking her mouth so that she couldn't breathe, and then beg for mercy.
If you say something like that again, I will come to your house right away.
Sure enough, the threat worked, and the text message came back immediately - No, take good care of yourself, and don't postpone the day we meet again.
Wen Jialuo threw his cell phone to the end of the bed in annoyance, then struggled to get up and reached out to sweep the empty teacup on the bedside table to the ground.
The muffled sound from the teacup attracted people as expected. Luo Linyi pushed the door open and came in, horrified.
Her daughter was struggling to sit there, with her head down, covering her chest and bending over. She looked so fragile that she seemed like she would break if she bent, while her other hand, which was tightly grasping the quilt, almost crushed the empty space.
"Jia Luo, what are you doing?" Luo Linyi hurriedly went forward to help her, but was pushed away.
Wen Jialuo raised his head, sweat on his forehead: "Mom, I can't lie down anymore..."
"What's wrong? You were fine just now, weren't you?" Luo Linyi reached for the hand that was grabbing the quilt. It was so cold that it almost froze her. She looked at her daughter's face again, and it was almost pale.
"Not at all, I'm not feeling well at all." Wen Jialuo held his head and moaned.
"What's wrong?"
Wen Baohua, who heard the noise, also walked in and was startled. She went forward to help Wen Jialuo, because she was pregnant, and no matter how bad-tempered Wen Jialuo was, she would not give her a cold shoulder.
Luo Linyi's face turned pale, and she gave Wen Baohua a look for help. The two sisters were close in age, and some things that they wouldn't tell her might be told to Baohua.
Baohua nodded slightly, motioning for his aunt to go out first.
Wen Jialuo did not push Wen Baohua away. Instead, she held her hand tightly like a drowning person: "Sister, have you been to see Xu Shiqi?"
Wen Baohua was stunned, lowered his eyes and said nothing.
"What's wrong with her voice?" Wen Jialuo felt even more depressed when he saw her like this, and he couldn't help but raise his voice and ask.
"Don't get excited," Wen Baohua hurriedly comforted her, "If the wound is not healed well, it will leave sequelae."
"Damn... sequelae." Wen Jialuo looked blankly into the distance and lowered his voice, "Tell me, have you seen her? Is she... not well at all?"
Wen Baohua sighed.
Seventeen was her good friend, so of course she would go to visit her when something like this happened. In fact, it wasn't just her. What Jia Luo didn't know was that her grandmother had also expressed her feelings. Seventeen and her grandmother had a relationship. In her grandmother's eyes, she was a very good girl and she liked her very much. When she was in the hospital, her grandmother had visited her many times. She liked her voice so much, and she shed many tears behind her back when she saw that she couldn't speak.
Seventeen's surgery was done with a transverse incision in the neck after local anesthesia. The doctor said that the vocal cord repair surgery would give her a good pronunciation condition after the surgery. The word "good" in "good" is like a comforting excuse. The grandmother knew that the person who suffered the most damage in the car accident should not be her little granddaughter.
Jia Luo was lying in bed and couldn't take responsibility for the accident. She couldn't even walk up to Shiqi and say sorry in person. But the Wen family would not evade responsibility. Every time the two mothers refused at the door of the ward, grandma would say that the elders were the most important, and it would be difficult for Xu's mother to refuse.
After leaving the hospital, grandma started to feel restless again. She started taking sleeping pills again. She couldn't sleep well even when grandpa was around. Her blood pressure has been very high during this period. The old director of the hospital came to see her. He could see the problem without even using any tools. He told everyone that the old lady had something on her mind and that she would sleep well only after she got it treated.
After hearing this, grandma was silent for a long time, then asked everyone to leave and only left her.
Wen Baohua didn't expect that grandma would ask to go to the Seventeenth House in person. Unlike the visit in the hospital, grandma went to apologize solemnly.
Grandma said that Seventeen's voice might never return to what it used to be, and she felt uneasy.
Wen Baohua did not call. He took the gifts that his grandmother brought back from her hometown for Shiqi and took his grandmother directly to Shiqi's home.
It was Mother Xu who opened the door. The worry that had remained on her face since she arrived in the hospital was still there, and she was a little surprised to see them.
Mother Xu said that Seventeen has been in a bad mood since she came home, but she didn't want others to see it, so she has been hiding at home; Mother Xu also said that she was either reading a book or playing with her phone every day, like a different person. After saying this, she looked at them and said that there was no other meaning in her words, thank you for coming to see her.
Grandma was silent for a while and suggested that she should be alone with Seventeen, so Wen Baohua still doesn't know what Grandma talked about with Seventeen that day. He only knows that Grandma became even silent after she came out of Seventeen's room.
When Shiqi sent grandma out, she still had a smile on her face, and she didn't look as depressed as Xu's mother said. She just made gestures to express her feelings because she still couldn't speak. Wen Baohua saw it and felt pain in her heart, but now that it had come to this, she didn't know how to make it up to her friend.
Grandma obviously had the same idea. Before leaving, she stared at Seventeen and said, "Remember what I said. No matter what you ask me for, I will consider it carefully."
As if helping Jia Luo to atone for her sins, grandma probably liked Seventeen's voice too much. Wen Baohua could still remember that Seventeen leaned against the door, just smiling very gently, without even nodding in response.
After returning home, the grandmother told her sons that the girl's vocal cords must be cured at all costs. They should find the best expert in the country or send her abroad for treatment. It was up to them to make the arrangements.
Jia Luo didn't know about this, as she stayed in her room most of the time. Grandma said that she and Shiqi were close, and if she knew about it, she would feel extremely guilty, and was afraid that it would affect her recovery, so she didn't tell her yet, and waited until she was better, and then let her do what she should do.
Wen Baohua didn’t know what his grandmother was talking about, but looking at Jialuo’s expression, he obviously knew that Seventeen’s voice was not so easy to cure.
"It's not just a torn vocal cord problem. It seems that her brain is also damaged, which affects the nerve function. It is said that she can't control and regulate the sound..." Wen Baohua explained, "Don't worry, our family will take care of her voice problem. My uncle has specially sent someone to follow up on her condition and will take care of her until she recovers."
Wen Jialuo listened in a daze: "It's not our family, it's me..." She slowly couldn't sit still anymore and fell on the bed, "Why didn't you tell me..."
"Grandma didn't let me tell you." Wen Baohua said, and she felt that her words were a little awkward. In fact, she didn't quite understand why she didn't tell Jia Luo the reason. Jia Luo had the responsibility to know about this, didn't she? But maybe grandma had anticipated Jia Luo's loss of composure at this moment, so she instinctively had that kind of consideration.
Hearing this, Wen Jialuo stopped talking. In fact, it doesn't matter whether some words are said or not, just do it. Her heart gradually brightened up, but unfortunately it was eventually annihilated in another kind of darkness of fear.
Even the text messages never mentioned the treatment process. Wen Jialuo knew that the woman would never come to see her as she had said. The people in this family felt sorry for her, and she would not embarrass them. She was a considerate person, so she would hide her true self and endure hardships in the past, and she would definitely do so in the future. So she knew that the most important thing at the moment was to get better quickly, and then go and tie the woman to her side in person to watch her get better.