338: Chapter 338 Parents (Part 1)

Provincial First Affiliated Hospital, Oncology Department.

Su Mingyuan arrived at the hospital at 2:10 PM.

The scene at the hospital entrance was more normal than he had imagined.

There were no road closures, no cordon tape, and no obvious security personnel.

The people entering and exiting the main gate were the usual patients and their families; lines were formed at the registration windows, and the intercom was calling out the next patient's number.

He entered through the side door.

The side door was an internal hospital passage, usually used only by medical staff.

Today, there were two people in plain clothes on either side of this door; they stood unobtrusively, but their eyes had a different look.

Zhao Ming followed three meters behind him.

Two other S-rank Martial Artists in plain clothes had already entered the hospital in advance, one in the oncology ward corridor and one at the ICU entrance.

The elevator went straight to the twelfth floor.

The head of the Oncology Department was waiting for him at the elevator.

"Mr. Su."

This was the form of address instructed by the provincial authorities.

The hospital knew whose family member was coming, but they did not know what the family member's status was.

Su Mingyuan shook hands with the department head.

"How is my father?"

"He was in decent spirits this morning and ate about half a bowl of porridge," the department head said while walking. "We've used a long-acting regimen for pain management, which is currently under control. I had a CT scan done again, and the situation is consistent with our previous assessment."

"And my mother?"

"Your mother woke up once at 3:30 AM this morning, but fell back asleep in less than a minute. Her vital signs are stable, but she hasn't regained consciousness. The assessment from the neurosurgery department will be out tomorrow morning."

"I will see my father first."

"Very well. The private room is at the very end, 1223."

The corridor was long, with patient rooms on both sides.

As Su Mingyuan passed by, a few patients' family members were pouring water or making phone calls at the doorways; they didn't pay him any extra attention when they saw him.

Such is the daily routine of a hospital—people arriving and leaving every day.

The door to 1223 was closed.

The department head knocked once from the outside.

"Mr. Su, I am Department Head Li. Your son has come to see you."

There was no immediate response from inside.

After a few seconds, a very faint voice came through the crack in the door.

"Come in."

The department head pushed the door open.

The window in the patient room was open, and the afternoon sunlight shone in at an angle, illuminating the white bedsheets of the hospital bed.

A pot of orchids was placed at the head of the bed; it must have been arranged by the provincial authorities.

His father was half-sitting in bed, much thinner than when Su Mingyuan had last seen him.

He was awake, his eyes looking toward the door and resting on Su Mingyuan's face.

Su Mingyuan walked over.

"Dad."

His father didn't speak immediately. The old man looked at him, his mouth twitching slightly, which counted as a smile.

"You've come."

Su Mingyuan sat down on the chair by the bed.

Everyone else in the room exited. The door closed, leaving only the father and son in the room.

Only then did Su Mingyuan clearly see his father's appearance.

The old man's cheeks had sunken in, and his skin was that waxy yellow color peculiar to patients.

An indwelling needle was taped to the back of his hand, with a tube running from under the blanket to the IV stand at the head of the bed.

His hair was half as white as it had been last time he saw him, sparse and clinging to his scalp.

"Why did you come back? We are both people with one foot in the grave," his father said. "State affairs are the most important; otherwise, I wouldn't have let the local comrades help keep it hidden."

"It couldn't be kept hidden; the organization told me."

Su Mingyuan looked at his father.

The old man was also looking at him.

"Dad, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"What would be the use of saying anything? You know what kind of illness I have," his father said. "It can't be cured!"

"Besides, although I don't know exactly what your work is, seeing how the organization takes care of your mother and me, I can guess a little—it must be very important to the country."

"Dad, you must tell me about such things."

"What is there to talk about?" His father's voice was very slow, pausing to catch his breath every few words. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death—it's the natural order of life."

Su Mingyuan didn't speak.

His father looked out the window and sighed.

"Your mother has never given me any cause for worry in her life. In forty years of marriage, I can count the number of times she's been sick on two hands. This time, it's truly hopeless. It looks like your mother is going to go before me."

"The neurosurgery department says the situation is stable."

"Stable is stable, but she can't wake up," his father turned his head back. "With so much blood loss, how could there still be any hope?"

Su Mingyuan wanted to say something, but didn't.

His father reached out and touched Su Mingyuan's hand, which was resting by the bed.

The old man's hand was very cold.

"Mingyuan, you sit a little closer."

Su Mingyuan moved the chair forward.

"How many days can you stay now that you're back?"

"It depends."

"Is it busy on the national side?"

"Yes."

"Then don't stay long," his father said. "Just take a look at me, take a look at your mother, and that's enough. Your affairs over there are more important than the family."

"Dad."

"Listen to me." His father's hand pressed down on his. "You are a person who does great things. Your mother and I both know that. You haven't come back much over the years, but we have never complained, because we know that you are doing things for the country, and that is enough."

Su Mingyuan looked at the old man's hand.

"Dad."

"Yes."

"I want to stay a few more days this time."

His father looked at him.

He watched for a while.

Then the old man smiled slightly.

"Good."

Su Mingyuan stayed in his father's hospital room for forty minutes.

His father spoke slowly, needing to rest every few sentences.

They didn't talk about anything major, just some trivial household matters and how the old neighbors in the area were doing recently.

Su Mingyuan chimed in from the side, not saying much.

As his father was talking, he glanced at him.

"Although you've gotten thinner, your complexion is still quite good."

Su Mingyuan was stunned for a moment.

He was now a Third-Order Martial Artist, and his physical fitness was more than fifty times that of an ordinary person.

When his father said his complexion was good, he could truly see it.

But the old man couldn't say exactly why, so he could only use the word "complexion."

"Maybe things have been going smoothly at work recently."

Su Mingyuan naturally wouldn't tell his father about Spiritual Qi or the matters of Cultivate.

After all, he was the one who formulated the confidentiality plan; if he were to lead the violation, what kind of situation would that be?

"Smooth is good, smooth is good." His father nodded. "It's a pity, your mother and I won't be able to wait to see you get married and have children."

Speaking of this, his father was a bit tired.

Su Mingyuan let him sleep for a while.

The old man closed his eyes, his breathing slowly leveled out, and after five minutes, he fell asleep.

Su Mingyuan sat by the bed and watched him.

It was the first time he had looked at this old man so closely.

In the original owner's memories, his father had always been a very stern person.

When he put on a stern face, even his colleagues wouldn't dare to respond. But now, the person lying on the hospital bed was gaunt beyond recognition; when he slept, his lips were slightly parted, occasionally making a very faint breathing sound.

As Su Mingyuan watched, his nose felt a bit sore.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

Su Mingyuan walked out of his father's room at 3:00 PM.

Zhao Ming was waiting at the door.

"Chief, the ICU has been contacted; you can go see your mother now."

"Let's go."