Chapter 2514: line with translation of title

【Discharge, go home!】

The exclamation mark was very noticeable; Zheng Ren saw it, feeling no relief, but his heart gave a sudden jump, and then some indescribable emotion lingered in his mind.

According to his own judgment, that little boy should have only about three months of life left.

But in the posts, it was always said that the condition was improving, and he was full of expectation to return to school; this is also exactly what Zheng Ren felt was abnormal.

He looked at the post from 12 Minutes ago, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

After a brief hesitation, Zheng Ren's hand began tapping a few times on the phone screen, opening the chat interface, and typing a line of text.

【You still okay?】

Just four simple characters, without any punctuation, Zheng Ren's finger hovered over the send key for a long time without pressing it.

"Zheng Lao Ban, why aren't you reading today?" Lin Yuan asked on the side.

Zheng Ren raised his head, smiled at Lin Yuan, and said, "I'm chatting with a little friend."

"Little patient? You met him in Hai Cheng, right?"

Zheng Ren didn't explain in detail to Lin Yuan; he wore his usual smile on his face, as if doing this would make the whole world a bit gentler and kinder.

There was nothing to hesitate about; Zheng Ren turned his gaze back to the phone and pressed the send key.

Watching the four characters he had just sent, Zheng Ren waited quietly.

As for what he was waiting for, Zheng Ren didn't know either.

Maybe it's a message,

maybe it's a reply,

maybe there are many maybes,

but the most likely possibility is that he wouldn't get any reply at all.

"Zheng Lao Ban, in a few days the Nobel Prize review will be finished and the results announced—are you feeling tense?" Lin Yuan asked while writing the medical record and chatting with Zheng Ren.

Gao Shaojie paused, perking up his ears to listen seriously to Zheng Lao Ban's answer.

From various signs, Gao Shaojie believed that Su Yun's 50-50 chance this time was not an impossible task. But as the days drew near, he himself began to feel a bit tense, while Zheng Lao Ban, mature beyond his years, showed no sign of change.

He was steady as a mountain, each day just carrying out normal medical work and doing surgery live broadcasts; his emotions seemed never to fluctuate.

Although he had doubts in his heart, Gao Shaojie didn't dare ask. He quietly waited for Zheng Ren's answer, hoping to find some answers in his words.

But Zheng Ren said nothing; his phone vibrated once, and his brows furrowed.

【Who are you?】

A reply appeared before Zheng Ren.

【I'm the doctor from 912; we met half a year ago at the entrance of the B-ultrasound room—do you still remember me?】

【You……where are you, can I see you?】

【Intervention Department, doctor's office.】

After Zheng Ren replied, the phone chat interface went quiet. The little boy on the other side stopped speaking; in fact, Zheng Ren had a premonition that the person on the other end of the phone was not the little boy himself.

The tone of speech was unlike, completely different from the child Zheng Ren remembered.

Thinking of countless possibilities, Zheng Ren stood up and walked to the door of the doctor's office.

He narrowed his eyes looking at the ward's big door, where people came and went; Zheng Ren hoped he could see the little boy's figure appear.

Even if the System Panel was all blood-red, or even if it had turned pale as paper with no color, as long as he was still alive, that would be fine.

As a doctor, accustomed to life and death, yet he could not be torn apart by the immense force between life and death. Wanting to achieve this is hard, too hard.

Even Zheng Ren, with the System on him, couldn't do it.

Su Yun always mocked him for being like an ostrich; Zheng Ren felt he wasn't an ostrich but a wounded lone wolf. In the deep of night, alone in the System Space, he licked the wounds on his spirit, so as not to affect the next day's work.

Day after day, month after month, year after year.

Some avoid, some face it head-on; no matter how you choose, it's fine.

While he was lost in thought, a hoarse voice asked, "Doctor, may I ask if you were just speaking on QQ?"

As expected…… Zheng Ren's heart sank.

Beside him stood a Middle-aged Woman, who was nothing like the Zheng Ren remembered of a woman in her thirties with lingering charm.

The woman's hair was disheveled, a few strands sticking haphazardly to her cheeks, carrying a hint of gray-white. Sunlight fell from behind Zheng Ren onto the woman's face; amidst the mottled light and shadow, those gray-white tones could not be dispelled.

Only half a year—how did she become like this? Actually, Zheng Ren already knew the answer, but he didn't want to think about it.

He nodded slightly; Zheng Ren's lips twitched a little, but he made no sound.

The woman looked at Zheng Ren, vaguely recognizing him. She habitually wanted to smile, to express her respect for the doctor and gratitude toward the person who had always been thinking of her child.

But the smile never appeared; the corners of her mouth twitched twice, and her eyes showed a dead gray, lacking any luster.

They locked eyes for a few seconds; the woman used her hand to smooth the stray hair to her ear.

Her hair was gray-white, her gaze gray-white; her whole person was gray-white, clashing with the beautiful afternoon sunlight.

"Thank you." The woman made a deep Jiu Gong, the motion slow yet stiff.

"Please don't be polite, come inside." Zheng Ren said softly.

"No." The woman said, "I still need to complete the discharge procedures."

"Child…" Zheng Ren asked softly.

"No treatment." The woman's tone was somewhat strange; Zheng Ren felt four parts bewildered, three parts unwilling, two parts relieved, and one part calm.

Zheng Ren didn't know whether it was his Inner Mind overacting or what, but in an instant he sensed such complex emotions.

He didn't speak, just quietly watching the woman who had aged twenty years in half a year. Her life had gone from color to gray-white; what she had gone through in between, he could not empathize.

"The child has suffered too much." The woman said lightly: "He's very strong; I know he wants to keep me company. It's unnecessary now; we plan to spend the remaining time together watching sunshine and grass, chatting quietly."

Her words were scattered, like sand from an hourglass falling onto the ground, impossible to pick up.

But Zheng Ren understood her meaning; this was the last time they could be together, and she didn't want to waste it in endless painful treatment.

When at Haicheng Shi Yiyuan, Zheng Ren had seen many patients who had given up on rescue; sometimes he even had to advise the patients' families that such diagnosis and treatment was a bottomless pit that could never be filled, and one must act within one's means.

In the end, losing both person and wealth is a likely outcome; others couldn't retain it, and the family's daily life becomes impossible to sustain.

But looking at the woman before him, Zheng Ren couldn't utter a word.

"My tears have already dried up, but now there really is no way." The woman said softly: "I came to see you because I want to see every person who has interacted with him, and I want to preserve every memory."

As she spoke, the woman bowed deeply again, "Thank you, doctor. Thank you for still thinking of him. Rest assured, he is not lonely."