The day of the operation, Wang Dahu woke up early and was unable to sit or stand still. Compared to him, Li Qingran appeared to be much calmer.
At nine sharp, Li Qingran was pushed to the operation room. Wang Dahu sat on a bench in the hallway and stared without blinking at the tightly shut doors to the operating room. Each second felt as long as a year.
Time slowly trickled on, and Vang Dahu became increasingly nervous and impatient.
The doctor said that this kind of surgery was not life threatening, but whether or not it succeeded would directly determine if Li Qingran became a cripple. How could Wang Dahu not worry?
Wang Shoumin sat beside him. The old man watched as his grandchild gripped his fists tightly, and he patted the child’s head to comfort him.
More than four hours later, the light above the door finally switched off to show that the operation was over.
Wang Dahu jumped up, ran to the doctor who just pushed open the door, and repeatedly asked how it went.
“Don’t worry! The operation was overwhelmingly successful. There won’t be any lingering repercussions to his health.”
After hearing that, Wang Dahu excitedly howled a few times.
…
Li Qingran was under the influence of anesthesia. When he woke up, the sun was already setting.
“Leg…” When he awakened, the first thing he did was stroke his left leg.
“No problem, there’s no problem at all!!!” Wang Dahu smiled and said, “The doctor already said that the surgery went very well. After a few more days, your leg will be back to how it was before. You can run and jump how you did before.”
When he heard that, Li Qingran’s pale face immediately revealed a blissful smile.
Upon seeing it, Wang Dahu pinched his small nose, “Don’t worry anymore!”
Li Qingran shyly nodded.
Wang Dahu waited for him to fall asleep, then walked to the restaurant next door to buy food. He bought a chili fried potato and eggplant dish, some braised pork ribs, and two portions of dumplings. He even requested a bowl of broth for Li Qingran to drink.
It was unquestionable! The chef was indeed skillful and the bowl of soup was both hot and fragrant. Just catching a whiff would make people drool rivers.
The girl in the next bed swallowed loudly.
Wang Dahu noticed and couldn’t help but tease her a couple of times. Who knew that the little girl known as Xiaoyu had long lasting grudges. She refused to play with Wang Dahu and latched onto Li Qingran instead. Watching the two of them talk and smile, big brother Ran Ran this, little sister Xiaoyu that, Wang Dahu silently bit on his sleeve and cried internally.
However, Wang Dahu’s “jealousy” only lasted ten days. That day, Gu Xiaoyu was transferred to another room. The little girl was diagnosed with “bone cancer”.
Even now, Wang Dahu still remembered clearly. In the blink of an eye, Xiaoyu’s mother, a woman with a bright and cheerful demeanor, was overcome with despair, and the sound of wailing couldn’t be suppressed and escaped from the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Fate was always this cruel.
After Gu Xiaoyu was transferred, Li Qingran was obviously quieter than usual. Wang Dahu knew that he wasn’t feeling well, so he constantly looked for ways to cheer him up, but there wasn’t much effect.
Wang Dahu had no choice but to borrow a wheelchair from the “angelic sisters”. Every day, he pushed Li Qingran to go see the little girl.
Gu Xiouyu weakly lay on the bed. There was no trace of the girl who bared her teeth and claws at Wang Dahu a few days ago. When people looked at this scene, they would lament.
Li Qingran sat by the bed and read to the little girl. He was reading “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, which Gu Xiaoyu loved the most. Even though they read it several times, she never got bored of it. “… and then the prince and the princess lived happily ever after.”
Gu Xiaoyu lifted her head and spoke with a weak voice, “Xiaoyu thinks that brother Ran Ran is like a prince.”
“Haha… You brat, does that make you the princess?” Wang Dahu jokingly teased.
“Big brother Ran Ran is the prince, Xiao Yu is the princess, and big brother Dahu is none other than the evil queen!” Gu Xiaoyu wrinkled her nose and spoke unhappily.
“Oh dear! This child is so brave!” Wang Dahu curled his fingers into an orchid shape[1] and spoke in falsetto. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? What??? I am not the most beautiful?! It’s Princess Xiaoyu… …Aaaaaugghhh… …I can’t accept this. I want Princess Xiaoyu… I want to eat her!”
“He, hehe, ha ha…” Gu Xiaoyu watched Wang Dahu spread his hands to grab her. She was both scared and amused by his roleplay. However, she was just too weak. She laughed so hard that she started to gasp for breath. Xiaoyu’s mother, who was standing by the bed the whole time, quickly put on the oxygen mask for her daughter.
“Auntie, I’m so sorry, I…”
“I don’t blame you!” Xiaoyu’s mother’s haggard face displayed appreciation, “I’ve never seen this child so happy over the past few days. Auntie is grateful that you children have come to visit and talk to her!”
“Xiaoyu will get better, Auntie!” Li Qingran rubbed the little girl’s head and gently said, “She will definitely get better!”
However, nothing is permanent. Life is such a frail thing.
One night, four days later, the six year old Gu Xiaoyu left this world forever.
That day, the pouring rain and the sounds of hoarse sobbing coming from Xiaoyu’s mother caused people to feel even more heartbroken.
When Wang Dahu and Li Qingran came, the room was full of people, so they waited outside. Not long after, Gu Xiaoyu was pushed outside. The body was covered with a white cloth, and the little girl’s outline could barely be made out. They pushed the vehicle very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it had passed them. Wang Dahu lifted his head and cursed under his breath. His puffy eyes watered until he couldn’t suppress them any longer and hot tears streamed down his cheeks.
Li Qingran also cried. He sat on the wheelchair and cried for a long time, grieving.
His small face was completely covered in wet tears.
This was the second time after being reborn that Wang Dahu saw him cry. The first time was when Kong Xiumei abandoned him. This time, it was because a tiny soul suddenly departed.
Apparently, when people are overcome by despair, they cry. Only then can they release the accumulated sadness in their hearts.
Wang Dahu tightly held Li Qingran’s trembling body from behind. Neither of them spoke.
…
Several days after Gu Xiaoyu’s death, Li Qingran was still unable to recover from the shock. He sat absentmindedly, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Wang Dahu was scared that he was depressed, and immediately pushed him into the hospital’s flower garden for a breath of fresh air and to help him overcome his sadness.
November was the month in which chrysanthemums thrived.
The bright yellow wild chrysanthemums vying for space in the pot obstinately displayed their beauty for others to enjoy.
Wang Dahu pushed the wheelchair while talking to Li Qingran.
As they were speaking, someone walked up from afar and called out to them.
Wang Dahu looked closely. It was Xiaoyu’s mother.
“Auntie!” Two people spoke simultaneously.
Xiaoyu’s mother smiled. Wang Dahu carefully observed her and saw that while there was still grief in her eyes, her spirits seem to have recovered. She no longer look like she had lost all hope or wanted to follow her little girl into the after life.
“This time, auntie came to find you two.” Xiaoyu’s mother fished out a sketchbook from her pocket, “These are pictures Xiaoyu drew. I’m giving it to you two as a memento!”
Li Qingran accepted it and lightly called out, “Auntie!”
Bringing up her heartbreak, Xiaoyu’s mother wanted to cry, but she pretended that everything was fine and wiped her tears. The three people spoke for a while, then Xiaoyu’s mother left.
Li Qingran opened the sketchbook and colorful images drawn in crayon vividly stood out from the white pages. One could see that Xiaoyu had drawn herself and Li Qingran.
The girl wore the dress of a princess and held hands with a boy in prince’s clothes. They stood hand in hand under a sky raining flowers, and it seemed as if they were getting married.
Wang Dahu sighed internally. That little girl really did have “bad intentions” towards his Ran Ran.
There were a total of seven pictures. In just a moment, they had already flipped through all of them. On the last page, Wang Dahu saw that there was a weak, skinny “cat” in the corner. Only after seeing the word “Wang” written largely on its forehead did Wang Dahu realize that this “tiger” was him.
“Brother Ran Ran, meanie brother Dahu, thank you!!”
These words were written with red crayon, wobbly and crooked. Most of it was written phonetically.
Wang Dahu sniffled and suddenly wondered why the wind was blowing so hard! It hurt his eyes.
“Dahu!” Li Qingran suddenly cried out softly.
“Eh?”
Li Qingran folded the sketchbook and spoke resolutely, “In the future, I want to be a doctor!”
“Huh????”
“I definitely have to treat children like Xiaoyu. I cannot let sickness steal their lives.”
“Ran Ran is very formidable!” Wang Dahu stroked his head and smiled, “Brother Dahu believes that you can definitely do it! You will become the best doctor in the world!”
The little yellow wild chrysanthemums swayed slightly in the breeze. Their lives may be short, but everyone had to admit that at this time, at this second, they strived to bloom. Therefore, even if they shriveled up one day and their petals fell, the faint smell of chrysanthemums would forever linger on in their hearts.
…
One month later, Li Qingran was released from the hospital.
Long Yiming sent a car to come get them and drive them back to Xing Ye village.
Looking outside the car window, as the large “Leading Hospital in H town” sign gradually faded out of sight, Wang Dahu and Li Qingran held hands and smiled at each other.
After sitting in the car for a whole day, they finally arrived home at night.
Grandma woke up early to make a table full of food for the two children. Not only that, Wang Dahu’s mother and father as well as the infant Wang Xiaohu had come.
A lively celebratory feast was about to begin.
Translator’s Notes:
[1]