Chapter 520 – Outside Assistance
The one who was in a bad condition was Li CunZhuang.
Although he suffered a lot of injuries after protecting Shu Sha at the river, he made a complete recovery soon after.
I haven’t seen him since last Friday, but I didn’t take it too seriously. Anyway, since his academics have always been poor, it was normal for him to cut classes. He had too few points allocated to intelligence, so I’m afraid further education isn’t a reasonable future plan.
However, today when I called my acquaintances one by one, and when it was Li CunZhuang’s mother’s turn, it was obvious something was wrong based on her tone like she was trying desperately to suppresses her pain.
“Auntie, tell me the truth, what happened to ZhuangZi.”
For Li CunZhuang, who has a mean face and has a hard time expressing himself, I was one of his few “friends”. Although I had a hard time setting boundaries with girls, one of my rules for friends was that I would never desert them.
Li CunZhuang’s mother hesitated for a while before she held back her tears and said, “Ye Lin, if you have some time, come and visit Zhuang Zi at the hospital…”
My heart skipped a beat.
Li CunZhuang had strong muscles and bones, so he would never be sent to the hospital for ordinary injuries. If I took into account his mother’s tone, then something big must have happened.
I immediately took a taxi according to the address provided to Dong Shan city’s brain hospital.
I knew it wasn’t a good situation when I saw the hospital sign from a distance.
The brain hospital. Did Li CunZhuang get into a fight again and ended up with a serious brain injury?
I arrived in front of Li CunZhuang’s room while smelling the scent of disinfectant in the hallways. The first person to welcome me was Li CunZhuang’s father, while his mother was sitting on a bench, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
“Sigh….”
The first thing he did was give a long sigh.
“Ye Lin, you also know Zhuang Zi doesn’t have many friends at school, so we didn’t tell the truth to his school about his condition. Anyway, even if we can cure him, I’m afraid he can’t attend school anymore…”
“Uncle Li, what’s wrong with Zhuang Zi? Please tell me.”
I finally heard some ominous words.
A brain tumor.
Starting last week, Li CunZhuang suddenly started seeing doubles in his left eye. It got so serious that he couldn’t hold anything or walk properly and he had to cover up his left eye to adapt. Finally, his dad brought him to the hospital for a full examination.
The ophthalmologist was quite experienced and after listening to the symptoms, he immediately suggested Li CunZhuang to get a brain CT scan The results came out that afternoon and it was a brain tumor. The results were the same with an MRI. According to the specialist, the tumor was large and in a bad spot where it could cause the vessels to rupture, so they had to perform surgery as soon as possible.
Li CunZhuang parents were shocked by this sudden news. They asked their acquaintances to help transfer their son to the city’s brain hospital that specializes with brain tumors. But the chief physician was still not optimistic about the success rate of the surgery, and according to his words, “I can’t even guarantee if he could make it off the operating table alive.”
From the nurse’s conversations, Li CunZhuang’s parents heard “It’s in a terrible spot, so even if the operation is successful, he will turn into a moron”. When Li CunZhuang heard the words “moron”, he was so angry that he threw things at the nurses, and his parents could only shed tears inside when they tried to discourage him.
Since the operation was so dangerous, they asked if there was any possibility of conservative managements. The answer they received was, “Your son’s condition is very unstable. One an artery ruptures, even if he doesn’t die, he will be paraplegic.”
Buddhists say, “All things are unpredictable.” Who would have thought that Li CunZhuang, who was as strong as a bear, would face a life and death test all of a sudden?
I took a deep breath and the air in my lungs felt heavy.
Damn what a melodramatic development, I never liked watching tragedy dramas. Damn it, Li CunZhuang how can you die? That psycho Fang Xin predicted that the person I love the most would die… the one I love the most isn’t Li CunZhuang! Fang Xin can go eat shit and the one who gave Zhuang Zi a brain tumor can go eat shit!
Because Li CunZhuang became more irritable after being diagnosed and loved to smash things, the hospital arranged a single room for him, of course, it was more expensive.
I walked in just as Li CunZhuang getting angry because he couldn’t read the two words on the IV bottle and angrily threw the folding chair towards the door. I used Yin Yang Sanshou to distribute the force, then I took the chair and walked to his bed and sat down.
“It’s… you.”
A sluggish yet intimate glimmer flashed through Li CunZhuang’s right eye.
“Yes, it’s me.” I tried to remain natural and chatted with Li CunZhuang despite the stinging in my chest.
During our conversation, I realized that Li CunZhuang didn’t know about his own condition. It wasn’t difficult to hide it form him because of his naturally low intelligence. But even Li CunZhuang could tell it felt different this time.
“Ye… Ye Zi, I feel like I can’t use any strength…”
You can’t use any strength, but you could throw the chair that high?
“Some… of the nurses talk behind my back and say I’ll turn stupid after I get cured. But I’m already stupid, I know I’m stupid but I just don’t like it when someone says it right in front of me…”
“If… if I become even more stupid, will I not even recognize myself anymore?” Li CunZhuang raised his head in bewilderment, “I wouldn’t be able to remember you, and I might even forget my love, Shu Sha… I can’t accept it…”
Although I didn’t not want to use the proverb “words of a man on his deathbed always come from the heart”, but it really described the current Li CunZhuang.
“Ye… Ye Zi, please don’t despise me after I turn even more stupid… can you continue to be my friend? But if I actually forget Shu Sha, please don’t remind me of her again. I’m already ugly enough and I don’t want Shu Sha to see me in an even worse state… you have to protect her in my stead…”
Damn it, what… demoralizing words. Have you seen any Korean dramas? It’s only beautiful woman who suffer unhappy fates, it’s not the right time for someone as ugly as you! You should keep living!
After saying a lot of comforting words to Li CunZhuang, which I didn’t even believe, I walked out of the room with my thoughts in disarray.
On the way back from the bathroom, I saw Li CunZhuang’s father talking to the chief physician. The physician was a bit up there in age and had a forehead full of confident wrinkles. His glasses were as immaculate as his white coat.
“Chief Han, will the success rate be a bit higher if it’s at a larger hospital in Beijing?”
Li CunZhuang’s father held on to a ray of hope.
Chief Han pushed the bridge of his glasses and said proudly:
“There’s not a single brain surgeon in the country who can give you any guarantees. Zhao ZhongXue is an expert in the field at the 301 Hospital in Beijing, but he’s my student and isn’t even as experienced as me.”
Seeing that Li CunZhuang’s father was still hesitant, Chief Han aggravated his tone and said.
“Even if you run all over the country, you won’t find a higher level of treatment than this hospital for brain tumor surgery. If you really care about a tiny bit more success rate, then you can go to the United States to see a doctor. The United States is indeed more experienced than us in this area, but you would need to apply for a medical passport and take a flight over. Who knows if there would be enough time, unless you can get a famous American surgeon to come to China to operate…”
His words gave me a sudden realization. I could not resist the joy in my heart and ran forward to hold Chief Han’s arm. I shook his hand while saying:
“Thank you, thank you for reminding me. You’re a savior, I know what I have to do now.”
I turned to Li CunZhuang’s father and said, “Uncle Li, don’t arrange a surgery for Zhuang Zi today. I have to go somewhere, but I will give you an update latest by tonight. Can you trust me?”
Uncle Li hesitated, “Even if you we’re doing the surgery here, you need at least three days of preparation time. Ye Lin, what are you are going…”
“Anyway, I will give you the news tonight, just wait for me.”
I waved my hand and ran out the hospital, only realizing halfway that running was prohibited and changed to a brisk walk.
“What’s wrong with that young man?” A young nurse who saw me shaking hands cordially with Chief Han and mistakenly believed I was one of his acquaintances.
Chief Han frowned, “I don’t really remember him… maybe he’s a patient I’ve treated before. But it seems like there was still some residual effects.”
After leaving from Dong Shan City Brain Hospital, I went to the VIP building of the Qing Zi Academy to meet with Peng TouSi.
China was a nation of science, how can I believe in the supernatural and go to the Dong Shan City Psychiatric Hospital and find Fang Xin to “change my destiny”. Besides, Li CunZhuang isn’t the one I love the most, that I’m confident on.
In order to get the best treatment for Li CunZhuang’s illness, the most scientific and rational choice was to go to Ai Mi and let her use Ai ShuQiao’s network to contact a brain surgeon to come to China and operate on Li CunZhuang.
“Can it be done?”
After I met PengTouSi alone in the guest room, I got straight to the point hoping to get his help.
“Madam Ai ShuQaio does know a lot of elites in the medical world, she has even netted some of them to act as full-time physicians in her own company. She sometimes even offers medical bribes to mafia leaders… letting her people save their lives is a better favor than anything else…”
“That means it’s possible to transfer a specialized physician to operate on my friend.”
I threw my hands down on the coffee table in excitement.
“Lin, you calm down, we need a better reason.” Peng TouSi said cautiously as he sat on the couch with his fingers interlocked.
“A better reason?” I didn’t understand.
Peng TouSi lowered his voice, “Think about it, if Madam Ai ShuQiao learns why you need a brain surgery specialist, she might coerce you into agreeing to something you don’t want to do.”
“Then, that can’t be helped.” I said anxiously, “If it can save Li CunZhuang’s life…”
“What if Madam Ai ShuQiao asked you to rape a female classmate before she would send a doctor over?”
“Um…” I was at a loss for words, “Then what should I do?”