Chapter 2619

2520.2426 How are you? (Alliance Leader Wang Mingliping extra chapter 2)

"Boss, dinner tonight?" Su Yun swayed in from outside, waving at Zheng Ren from afar.

"Doctor, I don't know your surname, but I still want to thank you." The woman, hearing Su Yun's words, said calmly: "I won't disturb you anymore, I'm leaving."

After saying that, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, unknown whether she was holding back sorrow or trying to leave Zheng Ren a smile. But in the end she wore a blank expression, expressionless as she left.

Su Yun walked over and met the woman face to face.

He froze, as if seeing a ghost, "You... you... you how..."

The woman slightly turned aside, making way for Su Yun, and walked out slowly.

Su Yun watched doubtfully as the woman's back disappeared at the doorway, he frowned and walked to Zheng Ren's side, asking: "How does she look like the person I met at the ultrasound room door half a year ago?"

Zheng Ren felt face blindness was truly a shortcoming, Su Yun completely outclassed him in this area.

He silently nodded.

Su Yun had long sensed the atmosphere was off; with his keen mind and rich clinical experience, he instantly guessed what had happened.

"Boss, is the child still alive?" Su Yun asked briefly.

"Probably not anymore." Zheng Ren sighed, "She said she'd discharge herself today and plans to take the child to see sunshine and grass."

"You too?" Su Yun asked briefly.

Zheng Ren recalled seeing the little boy half a year ago; then he was already in late-stage cancer, beyond cure. I don't know what price the woman paid to stubbornly extend the child's life by a few months.

Back then it couldn't be done, and now... it should be impossible. The tumor tissue has likely metastasized completely, not something surgery can fix. My skills are improving, but the tumor keeps spreading.

He shook his head, silent and speechless.

Su Yun patted Zheng Ren's shoulder, saying: "Don't dwell on it; human effort sometimes has its limits."

"But I want to go see him." Zheng Ren said in a low voice.

"Huh? Not scared anymore?" Su Yun sounded a bit surprised.

"I've only seen him once; I don't know what he's like now." Zheng Ren said seriously, "I want to see him once, see him off at discharge, and say a few words."

"You go yourself; I'm not interested in this kind of thing." Su Yun swayed into the office.

Zheng Ren thought it over, then strode out, heading straight from the ward to the inpatient settlement area.

Actually he didn't have much in mind; previously he hadn't had deep interaction with the little boy, even speaking less than five sentences.

And related memories have faded with time; Zheng Ren even couldn't recall whether the little boy called him uncle or brother back then.

It seemed like uncle, and I had been complaining about it at the time.

While idly thinking, he arrived at the inpatient settlement area.

Many people were handling discharge settlements in the afternoon, with long lines in front of over a dozen windows. Finding someone wasn't too hard for Zheng Ren; picking out a familiar face among the mosaic was, in a sense, simpler than for others.

The woman was queuing at window number 3; among the crowd she looked like a forty- or fifty-year-old, her waist slightly bent, life and endless sorrow pressing so hard she could barely breathe.

Parting, life and death—these are among the most important things in the world.

Zheng Ren sighed, yet without hesitation, approached the woman and extended his hand.

"I am Zheng Ren; you can call me Doctor Zheng." Zheng Ren introduced himself solemnly.

"Uh..." The woman blinked in confusion, looking at Zheng Ren, puzzled as to why this young doctor had followed her here.

But she obviously had good upbringing, instinctively reached out, shook Zheng Ren's hand, and softly said: "I'm Wen Xiaonuan; nice to meet you."

"Which ward is the child in? May I go see him?" Zheng Ren asked.

The woman looked at Zheng Ren's eyes, she was bewildered but still said: "Oncology Department Three, bed 7-18."

"Then you go ahead with your business; I'll go see the child." Zheng Ren and the woman shook hands, acknowledging each other, and he then turned and left.

Oncology Department Three—Zheng Ren kept muttering it to himself, not bothering to wonder what look the woman would give him.

He strode to the elevator of Inpatient Ward Three, not rushing to take the fire escape, but joining others to squeeze into the elevator up to the 18th floor.

The elevator was crowded; Zheng Ren waited a long time before getting in.

Usually Zheng Ren doesn't like crowded places—after all, more people mean more noise, he feels quite irritable. But today he had a different feeling.

Being alive, being able to chat and laugh is already good enough. Even without that, as long as one is alive, it's a great fortune, even if many faces wear worry.

Here it's bustling, yet it also has the warmth of everyday human life.

Upon reaching the 18th floor, Zheng Ren exited the elevator and went to Oncology Department Three.

Ward 7, bed 18—the little boy on the bed was staring at the ceiling, wondering what. Half a year without seeing him, he's grown much thinner. A large lump protrudes from his neck; at a glance his condition looks severe. Yet his eyes remain lively, though he's bored.

A bloody-red system panel appeared before Zheng Ren.

Various tumor metastasis diagnoses, each one life-threatening.

This was within Zheng Ren's expectations; if everything were healed, that would be the strangest.

He walked over slowly; the little boy noticed someone coming, his eyes moved from the ceiling to Zheng Ren.

"Huh? Uncle, how come it's you?" His voice was hoarse, speaking with difficulty. Yet he remained mischievous and cheerful, as if he had no idea what he was facing.

Zheng Ren smiled, sat on the white stool beside the bed, and said: "I came to see you."

"How are you?" the little boy asked.

"I'm fine, and you?"

"I'm okay, but this time I'm being discharged, my mom says she'll take me to see some grass." The little boy said: "It's the wild kind, endless grasslands. Now it's autumn; if we don't go see it now, we won't get another chance."

Is it autumn already? Zheng Ren isn't very sensitive to seasonal changes. Every day he's immersed in the department doing Shou Bing; if it weren't for Yi Ren changing his clothes, Zheng Ren wouldn't even remember, likely just wearing one or two outfits rotating for a year.

Sitting by the bed, Zheng Ren didn't know what to say.

But the little boy was quite talkative; his hoarse voice was due to the tumor invading the thyroid gland and also invading the cervical vertebrae, compressing the trachea.

He kept talking, as if he regarded Zheng Ren as a big toy, a big friend.

"You look okay." After a few Minutes, the little boy's stamina was mostly exhausted, his speech intermittent, and Zheng Ren then took over and asked.

"Well, I'll strive to keep living." The little boy said: "By the way, my name is Shi Jian—shi as in stone, jian as in strong. And you, uncle?"