Chapter 31

(translated by peanuts and edited by lidge)

In the blink of an eye, Feng Teng had gone abroad for two days. However, he has not even called back once so Shan Shan keeps on feeling something is wrong. At night on the weekend, Shan Shan is lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. No matter what, she cannot sleep....

Is it possible that he heard what she said that day? If he heard them, Boss will surely not let her off so easily. Normally when there is nothing, he will also find something to bully her a little.

Maybe he is just too busy? Wonder what time is it in America? Should she make a phone call over there?

Shan Shan uses her fingers to count the time difference. Suddenly, her mobile phone rings.

Can it be Boss’s phone call? She does not even bother to wear her slippers before running to get her mobile phone. It is an unknown local number. Shan Shan is somewhat disappointed and readily picks up the call. She hears Mrs. Xue’s happy and excited voice: “Shan Shan, we are in S City train station la!”

It can be considered a collective surprise attack by the Xue family as five people came. They are Shan Shan’s parents, Liu Liu’s parents, as well as grandpa Xue. Shan Shan manages to meet them at the train station and complains: “Why didn’t you call before you come ah?”

Mrs Xue smilingly replies: “To surprise you la.”

Shan Shan is speechless. Ha, really surprised.

“It just so happens that you and Liu Liu are here so we take this opportunity to come for a visit. At first, we wanted to come when the weather is hotter, but your grandfather has been a bit unwell recently. However, the hospital at home cannot find out what is wrong so it is better to come early to the hospital in the big city for a check-up.”

“How is grandpa?” Shan Shan is startled. When Mrs. Xue answers that the problem is not big, Shan Shan is relieved, “So it is decided to go to which hospital ah. It is difficult to get an appointment in a large hospital so I will go early to queue up first.”

“You don‘t need to bother. Liu Liu’s boyfriend is more capable than you ah. Your elder aunt said to ask him to go and find somebody.”

.... But Liu Liu did not come to S City ah.

Shan Shan glances at her mother, but in the end does not say anything. She decides to find time to go early to register. Not long after Shan Shan returned to S City, she received a phone call from Liu Liu. It turns out that she did not come to S City but went to Hangzhou so she asked Shan Shan to help her to keep it a secret.

When she is thinking about this, Liu Liu appears and walks hurriedly to say a few words to elder aunt and the others. Then, she anxiously pulls Shan Shan aside, “Shan Shan, you did not tell them I am in Hangzhou, right?”

“I did not say. You rushed over from Hangzhou?”

“Yes.”

Shan Shan is very confused, “Liu Liu, what is the matter? You must at least tell me.”

Liu Liu purses up her lip, “I broke up with him after Lunar New Year.”

Shan Shan is taken aback, “What happened?”

Liu Liu probably usually doesn’t have anybody to confide in. This time when Shan Shan asks, she actually uncharacteristically says a lot, “I hate the way my mother flatters and curry favor with him. She asked me to please him, and I am not allowed to make him angry. Am I not a person? Shan Shan, I really cannot stand it anymore.”

” .... Then why you still left home?”

“I have wanted to leave long ago. All my life, I have not lived for myself. Anyway, I cannot work there anymore. By chance, I found a job in Hangzhou online.”

Shan Shan worries: “But I am certain we cannot conceal this for long. Ah, what if your mother calls him .....”

“He has come to S city so he would have changed his mobile phone number to the one here.” Liu Liu bites her lip, “I know it cannot be concealed for long, just as long as it can.”

Seeing her usually submissive cousin so determined, of course Shan Shan will support her. She nods her head and determines to help her to hide the truth to the very end.

As the saying goes, a mother knows her daughter best. In the world, the person who understands the daughter well is no doubt the mother. In the second day in S City, elder aunt finds out about this matter.

Elder aunt is simply furious. She shouts loudly at Liu Liu in the middle of the street. About wasting her effort in bringing her up, she has such a poor life and even vents her anger on Liu Liu’s dad. She scolds him for having no future prospects resulting in her not being able to live a good life.

When a crowd starts to gather around them, Shan Shan’s parents quickly try to soothe elder aunt but fail to calm her raging temper. Finally grandpa Xue shouts: “Go home and settle this, stop making a scene!”

Elder aunt is still unwilling to stop. Grandpa Xue’s face becomes flushed, and he falls to the ground.

This time, the whole family is scared out of their wits and stops quarrelling. They quickly send him to the hospital, but the hospital refuses to admit him.

The doctor in the emergency room reluctantly puts down the phone and shakes his head, “Go to the emergency room for a drip now.”

The hospital refuses to admit him, and he cannot do anything about it. Seeing the family’s worried faces, he tries to reassure them: “It is also the same there. Go on the drip for a day first to observe his condition.”

Grandpa Xue has waken up now but still appears drowsy. Just now on their way to the hospital, the family only found out that the old man‘s body is very hot, the waist is red and swollen and some areas even have blisters and turned blackish. This does not look like the result of fainting from anger. It seems that the old man has not been feeling well for a while but he did not want to trouble anyone until he cannot endure it anymore. In the end, because of elder aunt‘s outburst, this made him angry and led to him collapsing.

Since the emergency room doctor says so, all they can do is follow his advice. It is already late afternoon and grandpa has just went through a round of check-ups so he will not be able to bear to go to another hospital to be tormented again. Moreover, other hospital will be better compared to here?

Shan Shan has often heard that it is difficult to seek medical assistance in the big city. When something happens on oneself, only then one knows how “difficult” things are.

This emergency room doctor is very warm and helpful. He comes to check several times and tells them what to pay attention to before getting off work. At night, grandpa sleeps comfortably after the drip. Finally, everyone feels relief.

The next day, grandpa is still on the drip. His situation is neither good nor bad, but the reassurance from the doctor gives them some confidence in his recovery. Tomorrow is Monday so Mrs. Xue asks Shan Shan to go to work. Although Shan Shan does not feel reassured, many family members are here so she is not really needed. If she takes too many leave, when something urgent really happens, it will be difficult to take more time off. Thus, she nods her head and decides to go to work.

Who knows on her way to work on Monday, Shan Shan receives a distressed phone call from Mrs. Xue: “Shan Shan, hurry up and come over. The emergency room doctor said your grandpa cannot stay anymore.”

When you stay in an emergency room, a new prescription is needed every day. Today, the emergency room has a change in the doctor on duty. After the removal of the medicated drip, grandpa Xue could still lie in the bed. Later, the doctor comes over and asks grandpa Xue to vacate the bed and have the drip sitting elsewhere.

Grandpa Xue is still having a fever and the swelling on the waist has not subsided so how can he sit up? The Xue family argues strongly, but the doctor ignores them completely. He even says rightfully family is not allowed to spend the night in an emergency room so they have broken the rules.

Mrs. Xue is angry and anxious, wiping away her tears while saying to Shan Shan: “At first, everything was okay. What did that hospital scalper (yituo in Chinese is somebody who for a profit entices others to obtain medical care) tell him, resulting in this?”

There are many middle-aged men idling around the emergency room. Shan Shan also only found out yesterday that these people are hospital scalpers. Yesterday, a hospital scalper approached the Xue family, but they ignored him so he is seeking revenge today.

Elder aunt boldly says: “We will not go. See if they dare to chase us out!”

Ya, can only be like this.

Shan Shan slowly sits down on the chair next to her. Her heart is ice-cold and weak.

She is aware all along that this world is realistic and tough. However, in her ordinary life she does not have many opportunity to encounter such blatant discrimination. When this kind of thing happens to her personally, she only starts to feel the slicing pain of small people being forced to become unruly.

She unexpectedly starts to hate her former self, how can she have lived such a na?ve life? Why she can be so carefree and without worries?

Momentarily, her heart is filled with desperation and despair.

historical

She initially had thought grandpa would recover fast. The doctor in the emergency room in the first day gave her confidence, but she is doubtful now. What to do? Ought to do what? The doctor who is on duty today will be finishing work soon so the hospital will not “persuade” them to leave but what about tomorrow? What if the hospital wants them to vacate the bed tomorrow?

Seeing her family members’ anxious expressions, Shan Shan clenches her mobile phone and finally makes a call to the other side of the ocean.

The phone rings several times before being picked up. Then, she hears that familiar voice.

“Feng Teng ....”

By just uttering his name, Shan Shan’s tears all of a sudden rush out and all the suppressed emotions seem to burst out in a flash. Everything is so unbearable until she is speechless and her heart feels suffocated.

“Xue Shan Shan.”

When Boss calls her full name including the surname, it means he is in a bad mood. If it is as it used to be, Shan Shan inevitably will be trembling in fear, but now it seems like suddenly she is being comforted.

“I ....”

Once again, she is chocked up with emotions.

The phone is quiet for a while.

“Shan Shan, where are you?”

Xue Shan Shan says: “I am in a hospital.”