Chapter 92.1 – When the Roses Bloom (10)
◎ Why do doctors save people? ◎
“…A Yao?” Fang Zhixu’s voice trembled as he called out.
The reaction from the beautiful sister was also big. She accidentally knocked over the paper and pen, hitting her shin against the chair, and creating a “scrape” noise.
Her entire face turned pale, staring at Fang Zhixu in disbelief.
“How could you be here? I mean, Mu City, you’re not…” Fang Zhixu took two steps forward, the language system completely disrupted. “You clearly said you wanted to leave Tongwan, start over somewhere else, no, no…”
Fang Zhixu glanced at Irene and then back at the beautiful sister, suddenly having a dreadful suspicion. His face displayed a shattered sadness and an impending enormous pain. “A Yao, what are you doing?”
At this moment in time, the only possible person who could appear here was Miao Lun’s mistress.
Coincidentally, Song Ke had encountered the beautiful sister twice. Both times, due to various circumstances, the communication device was inadvertently switched off. None of the V587 members had heard her voice. Moreover, at the banquet hall, due to the servants arranging screens, everyone’s attention was on Song Ke, naturally overlooking her, as she wasn’t that important.
Judging from Fang Zhixu’s current reaction, it was clear that they had known each other for a while.
Lu Xiaoyu, Su Cha, and Xu Xing heard the commotion and successively came out of their rooms. However, the atmosphere was tense, and no one spoke at this moment.
Song Ke slightly turned her head and noticed that the entire body of the beautiful sister was trembling as if a rose in a violent storm, on the verge of collapsing.
Fang Zhixu slowly reached out his hand but hesitated to touch her. “A Yao, please stop, stop this, okay? Let me take care of the rest. Trust me once more, even if it means death, I will do it.”
Perhaps stung by a specific word, the beautiful sister suddenly raised her head, her eyes bloodshot.
“What will you do? What can you accomplish?” The beautiful sister murmured softly, her voice increasingly poignant. “It’s been seven months. Do you still remember Tian Tian? Do you remember what she looked like?”
“You’ve forgotten, but I remember. Every night, I can see her crying face, she is my daughter, a part of my life. You can easily let go, but I can’t do that.”
The beautiful sister’s eyes welled up with tears, yet not a single drop fell.
“Fang Zhixu, you’re just a coward.”
“I have nothing to do with you anymore. I don’t need you to manage what I do.”
“…I should leave, otherwise Miao Lun will become suspicious.”
The beautiful sister staggered to the door. Song Ke wanted to speak up to stop her, but was held back by Irene and Lin Youyou, who signaled her with their eyes not to intervene.
Just before opening the door, with her back to everyone, she said, “The Guard Unit will have significant movements soon. It’s best for you not to get involved in anything.”
The apartment’s door closed slowly, and shortly after, the tails roaming outside the street also disappeared without a trace.
Inside the room, silence prevailed. Song Ke hesitantly began, “Fang Zhixu…”
Fang Zhixu stood motionless, slowly covering his face. Hot tears streamed from his fingertips. While neither of them had cried during their conversation, now, it was only Fang Zhixu, his emotions collapsing into wordless sobs.
Song Ke had never seen someone cry so heartbreakingly. Although no sound came out, every teardrop conveyed pain.
Gradually, she felt a rising discomfort in her heart, a sensation that made her want to cry too.
After a long while, Fang Zhixu managed to slightly steady his breath. “I’m sorry. I’ve constantly burdened you with my tasks without ever explaining the reasons.”
“I want to kill Nai Kang because I seek revenge, a deep-seated vendetta.”
“You and…” Song Ke didn’t know how to continue.
“A Yao, her name is Zhang Wanyao, my wife,” Fang Zhixu forced a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Perhaps that shouldn’t be called a smile; it was more like an expression of extreme pain. “…my former wife.”
…
Different from Zhang Wanyao, Fang Zhixu hadn’t dreamt for a very long time.
There was a time when he used to dream. In those distant and beautiful dreams, after returning from the 119 Hospital, on a bright sunny afternoon, he would turn the doorknob. A graceful figure, wearing an apron, stood with her back to him, painting on a canvas. Fang Zhixu’s lips curved into a smile. He tiptoed closer, wrapped his arms around the woman from behind, rested his chin on her neck, took a deep breath, and felt all the weariness vanish in the warm embrace.
Zhang Wanyao laboriously turned half of her body, holding up a paintbrush and a palette with nowhere to place them. With a smile in the corners of her eyes, she gently scolded, “Doctor Fang, how many times have I told you? Change your clothes first when you come in. It’s hard to clean off the paint.”
Fang Zhixu resisted, not willing to let go. He muttered, “I’ll clean it, let me rest for a while, I’m so tired.”
Zhang Wanyao couldn’t do anything about his stubbornness, so she nudged him with her elbow, “What about what we talked about last time?”
“Hmm,” Fang Zhixu exaggeratedly grunted, “Take it easy, you want to murder your own husband? Don’t worry, you focus on the art exhibition. I’ll take care of Tian Tian this week. I’ve almost cleared my surgeries, only one patient left.”
“…Is it that case with Mu City?” Zhang Wanyao furrowed her brow lightly.
“Yeah, that one. He’s a high-ranking official. I, as a small doctor, can’t decline,” Fang Zhixu said.
“Stop it, it’s because of the rare disease he has, and you can’t resist the challenge,” Zhang Wanyao immediately saw through him. Fang Zhixu, a medical genius, lacked interest in ordinary cases but became eager when it came to complex surgeries.
“He’s just thirteen, after all, still a child…” Fang Zhixu coughed lightly, awkwardly changing the subject. After becoming a father himself, the sharp edges he once had softened considerably. “Where’s Tian Tian? Is she still in class?”
“I’m here, Daddy.”
A sweet, delicate voice sounded, belonging to a pretty girl with neatly tied twin ponytails, around eight or nine years old, pouting unhappily. “I’m right here, but you only see Mom, not me.”
Fang Zhixu lifted his daughter with one hand, playfully rubbing her nose. “Who says Daddy can’t see you? Daddy’s heart blooms at the sight of you.”
Tian Tian chuckled, revealing two adorable dimples on each side of her cheeks, making her look particularly endearing.
“Our great painter Zhang has to go to work. Tian Tian is on break these days. Will you play with Daddy?” Fang Zhixu asked his daughter.
Tian Tian hugged Fang Zhixu’s neck and gave him a kiss. “Okay, I love Dad the most.”
As the chief physician, Fang Zhixu naturally had his own office and lounge. He was changing clothes for a doll with Tian Tian when a colleague hastily knocked on the door and barged in. “Dr. Fang, the patient in VIP3 is in critical condition!”
In VIP3, the patient’s name was Nai Wen, a thirteen-year-old boy, the only son of C55 District, Mu City’s magistrate, Nai Kang.
He suffered from a rare bone disease: McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS), a more complex form of osteodystrophy. The condition worsened with age, causing clearly defined brown patches all over the body, accompanied by severe bone pain during flare-ups.
“Prepare for surgery. I’ll be there immediately,” Fang Zhixu stood up. “Also, ask the head nurse to arrange for colleagues to take care of my daughter.”
He crouched down to talk to Tian Tian. “Tian Tian, Daddy needs to go save someone. Will you be a good girl and wait for me to come back?”
Tian Tian was a bit displeased, puffing her cheeks, but reluctantly agreed. She raised two soft fingers. “Okay, but I want to eat two strawberry-flavored ice creams.”
Fang Zhixu indulgently smiled, kissed Tian Tian’s head, and gave her an extra scoop. “Daddy will get you three, don’t tell Mom.”
Nai Wen’s surgery lasted a full fifteen hours. Fang Zhixu was fully focused, racing against death, and managed to pull Nai Wen, who was on the brink of death, back from the brink. Just as he exited the operating room, exhausted, he collapsed and fell asleep on the floor.
Tian Tian slept in the lounge for a while, and the next day, when Fang Zhixu hadn’t returned, she snuck out, holding her doll, taking advantage of the nurses dozing off. VIP3… Tian Tian faintly remembered this number. Dad must not have wanted to buy her ice cream, so he quietly hid here.
Tian Tian finally found the place and was about to enter when she was intercepted by a fierce-looking mercenary at the door.
“Let her in,” a weak voice sounded from inside the ward.
Nervously, Tian Tian went in. Not finding Fang Zhixu, she was startled upon seeing the person inside.
The young man lying in the hospital gown on the bed was thin, nearly the same height as her. His eyes were incredibly dark and his left face bore a large brown mark, similar to a birthmark, which looked particularly frightening.
Tian Tian clutched her doll tightly, terrified. She took small steps backward, trying to escape.
Nai Wen stared fixedly at the little girl in front of him. He knew his illness was severe, having hovered near death countless times. He had been tormented to the point of being unable to bear it. His entire body was in excruciating pain. However, beneath that pain, there was another kind of hidden excitement silently spreading, as if telling him that all his suffering needed an outlet.
