244: Chapter 244 That Vegetable Classmate

Judy was also a female classmate in Chen Mo's class and had a good relationship with Tang Yao. Being a girl with delicate feelings, she put herself in Tang Yao's shoes after hearing that people in a vegetative state might still possess consciousness. The thought of lying in bed, sensing all sorts of physical discomfort yet unable to move or even express it, made her feel incredibly distressed. Tang Yao, however, had to endure this pain every single moment on her hospital bed. It was because of this thought that Judy's face showed a look of deep pity.

"It's not quite like that!" Wang Chao said, comforting his girlfriend while driving. "Theoretically, if someone in a vegetative state really has consciousness, the situations you mentioned—feeling uncomfortable but unable to fix it—could indeed happen. However, given Tang Yao's family conditions, she's definitely staying in the best ward with the best medical equipment. Even the nursing staff must be professionals hired for twenty-four-hour shifts, giving her full-body sponge baths regularly. Any physical abnormality would be monitored by instruments in real-time. So, Tang Yao probably isn't as uncomfortable as you think."

Wang Chao didn't actually know the exact setup of Tang Yao's hospitalization, but his family owned a factory and had considerable economic strength. When his grandparents or other elders were hospitalized, they were treated with such a setup. He also knew that Tang Yao's family's economic power was even more terrifying than his own; the gap could be described as 'beyond comparison.' Therefore, even though Wang Chao hadn't seen Tang Yao's treatment conditions with his own eyes, he could guess based on her family's wealth that even if she never woke up and stayed in bed for the rest of her life, her family would never give up on these Sanatorium arrangements.

After hearing her boyfriend's explanation, Judy nodded in realization. She didn't know much about these things herself, but she fully trusted Wang Chao's insight. Hearing him put it that way, the worry and pity on her face faded slightly. However, her heart wasn't completely at ease. She recalled what the classmate who knew about vegetative states had said earlier: 'In real life, almost no one in a vegetative state ever wakes up.' Judy couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for Tang Yao's tragic fate.

"Is it really impossible for Yao Yao to wake up? Will she have to lie in a hospital bed for the rest of her life?" Judy asked.

"Who can say for sure? Although I haven't heard of cases where people in a vegetative state woke up before, today's technology is changing daily, and medical standards are developing at a terrifying speed. What's an incurable disease today might have a cure developed tomorrow. So, we don't need to worry about her too much; Heaven helps the worthy." The classmate who seemed to know about vegetative states spoke up. However, everyone knew that while he made it sound easy, it was actually far from simple—it was just a well-meaning blessing.

But Judy seemed a bit naive and took the classmate's words to heart, which made her feel much better.

The Mercedes business van Wang Chao was driving was exceptionally stable; those sitting inside could hardly feel the vehicle moving. In reality, the van was moving quite fast, though it couldn't compare to the red convertible driven by Ye Chen, which was already nearly out of sight. The scenery outside the window receded rapidly. As they passed a crossroad, Judy suddenly looked out.

"Hey, I remember the hospital Yao Yao is staying at is right down there. Why don't we go see her?" Judy pointed to a street outside.

Chen Mo looked out in the direction she pointed and saw that they had indeed reached the road where Jiangnan First Hospital was located. Calculating the time, it had been less than ten minutes since he got into the car. If Chen Mo had walked on his own two legs, it would have taken him over ten minutes—of course, that was without using his full strength. If he went all out, he could be even faster. Regardless, this Mercedes van was carrying nine people, including himself. Being able to run so fast while carrying nine people was something he couldn't achieve. From this, it was clear that four wheels were indeed superior to two legs.

Chen Mo thought silently, giving a mental thumbs-up to the Mercedes van, but then he quickly reacted. 'Wait, why am I comparing myself to a car?' Snapping back to his senses, Chen Mo speechlessly cleared those messy thoughts from his mind.

When Tang Yao first had her accident, many classmates had spontaneously organized a visit to the hospital. However, that was the only time. Later, as they entered the exam preparation phase, everyone's time became very tight, and almost no one visited again. As time passed, many had largely forgotten about a classmate like Tang Yao. In the carefree mood after the College Entrance Exam, they were even less likely to remember her. It was only because Tang Yao, the former class monitor, happened to be mentioned during their idle chatter, and the car was passing the road to Jiangnan First Hospital, that Judy suddenly thought they should pay Yao Yao a visit.

However, as soon as Judy spoke, the cabin suddenly went silent for a second. Then, Zhang Wei was heard laughing somewhat awkwardly, "Better not. Brother Chen and the others didn't go, so it's... not quite right for us to go alone."

Someone else chimed in, "With Tang Yao's current situation, visiting her won't help much. Instead, seeing us might make her family feel worse. It's better not to go."

"Besides, it's almost time for lunch. Let's go eat first."

"Right, right. Brother Chen is paying for everything today, so we definitely shouldn't miss out. Later, everyone should eat their fill and take some to go; we have to make Brother Chen spend a fortune!"

"Hahahaha!"

Cheerful laughter soon filled the cabin again, but the expression on Judy's face wasn't very good. she scanned the seven boys sitting in the two rows of back seats and realized that everyone was deliberately avoiding the topic of Tang Yao. Clearly, they weren't willing to visit their former classmate at the hospital, so they all put on somewhat hypocritical smiles and talked about other topics.

Judy noticed that the only one who didn't show that kind of hypocritical smile was Chen Mo, who was known as the class bookworm. Judy thought to herself, 'At least this Chen Mo has a bit of a conscience.' Just as she was about to observe Chen Mo's expression more closely, she found that he looked dazed and distracted. He probably hadn't even heard a single word about Tang Yao!

'This Chen Mo really failed Yao Yao's feelings for him. Looking at him now, he probably doesn't even remember Tang Yao anymore.'

"Hmph." Believing she had seen the truth, Judy couldn't help but feel indignant on behalf of her friend Tang Yao. She gave a huff of anger and turned her head to stare straight at the windshield. Seeing that the car had already crossed the intersection during the green light, leaving the street where Jiangnan First Hospital sat behind them, she lowered her eyelids, not wanting to say another word.

Wang Chao, who was driving, noticed Judy's behavior out of the corner of his eye and gave a seemingly indifferent smile. "Even if we really wanted to visit Tang Yao, we couldn't go at a time like this. We'd have to prepare flowers and fruit in advance. Besides, I heard that Tang Yao was transferred to a Sanatorium a long time ago. The people living there are all high-status elderly folks who value peace and quiet. It's really not appropriate for a large, noisy group like us to barge in. So, this matter isn't as simple as you think."

Wang Chao's family started their own factory, so there was no shortage of social engagements. Under their influence, he hadn't learned many other skills, but his discernment and interpersonal abilities had been honed. While not exceptionally brilliant, he was far ahead of peers who hadn't entered society yet. He immediately saw two main reasons why these classmates didn't want to visit Tang Yao. First, on such a happy day, no one wanted to go to a place like a hospital; moreover, visiting a patient required preparation and money, meaning they'd spend time and cash to go to a place filled with an atmosphere of gravity and sadness, ruining the great party atmosphere. Second, Tang Yao's condition was very specific. If it were any other illness, people would have probably organized a visit without Judy even mentioning it. But Tang Yao's vegetative state meant she could neither speak nor move for the rest of her life. To put it bluntly, it wasn't much different from being dead. In this situation, they were destined to have no future interaction, so why bother visiting?

Don't think that middle school students' feelings are purely sincere; they are just slightly more innocent compared to various social relationships. In reality, people still treat others based on their utility. Take Chen Mo, who was sitting in his car; even though Chen Mo didn't like talking to people and acted like a distant bookworm, everyone was still enthusiastic toward him because they knew his grades were the best in class and his future achievements after university wouldn't be low. But what if Chen Mo had accidentally fallen asleep during the College Entrance Exam and scored two hundred points lower? Then let's see if these classmates would still be so enthusiastic. Of course, Wang Chao only thought this to himself, knowing it was impossible. But thinking this way, he could well understand why no one was willing to visit Tang Yao, who had long been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.

Of course, these were just Wang Chao's private thoughts; he couldn't actually lay them all out and analyze them for Judy. In fact, he just gave a few casual explanations without clearly taking a side. Yet, after those simple words, Judy's expression no longer looked so angry; instead, she was lost in thought. The group of male classmates in the cabin also nodded in agreement with looks of regret.

Chen Mo saw all this and silently gave Wang Chao a thumbs-up. He hadn't expected that at such a young age, the boy's words and actions would be so measured, completely different from the wealthy second-generation persona he usually displayed.

Of course, Chen Mo didn't have much interest in these interpersonal matters, nor did he intend to learn from Wang Chao. It was just that since his Mental Energy had become powerful, many things happening around him would be known to him even without deliberate observation. That's why he could keep his head down in a daze while taking in everything happening in the car.

...

The black Mercedes business van soon drove onto Huanghe Road.

Huanghe Road was the most prosperous area in Jiangnan, gathering the city's most high-end commercial buildings. Driving onto this road, one was greeted by rows of towering commercial skyscrapers. The various impressive signs alone were enough to make one's head spin. Furthermore, the buildings here had almost no concrete walls; no matter how tall, they all featured semi-transparent glass curtain walls. This allowed people to see the scenes inside from the outside, while also acting as giant, polished mirrors reflecting the bustling crowds and vehicles on the street.

Since it was a pedestrian street inside, Wang Chao found a parking lot as soon as he entered the intersection. The staff member recognized that the Mercedes Wang Chao was driving was worth a fortune and enthusiastically led him to a parking space that was easy to get in and out of. Then, the group of nine filed out of the car.

"Chao-zi, over here!" It was Ye Chen, who had arrived early and parked his red convertible, waving and shouting at them from the exit. Beside him stood his girlfriend, along with Zhang Luoluo and Ran Na.

At the same time, the Xiaomi SUV behind them also followed closely into the parking lot. Because they were all students whose driver's licenses were likely still fresh, everyone except Ye Chen drove very steadily, arriving at roughly the same time.

After everyone got out of the cars, Chen Mo used his consciousness to sweep the area and counted only 23 people. Although fitting 23 people into just three cars was quite a feat, there were 40 people in their class. By that count, nearly half had not yet arrived.

Wang Chao noticed Chen Mo's confusion and explained beside him, "Brother Mo, let's go. Some of them reached the restaurant long ago, and a few are still on the way, but they should be here soon."

"Oh~" Chen Mo nodded in realization. He figured as much; a gathering like this was significant. Since even someone with social anxiety like him had shown up, theoretically, no classmate would be absent—except, of course, for Tang Yao.