The car sped down the long street, silence enveloping the inside. Ping’an tightly held his grandpa’s hand, the tears he had been holding back still hadn’t fallen.
He couldn’t cry, because if he did, grandma would be gone.
The little boy understood what hospital emergency meant. Last time, a friend’s grandpa was rushed to the hospital, and later his friend cried because his grandpa never returned.
He remembered asking mom, and she said that the elderly went to heaven. But he knew, from books, that it meant passing away, that is, death, end of story.
Grandma would take him to the theater, to the concert hall, to Old Mo’s, to the Beijing Restaurant, and to many other nice places...
She would make grandpa laugh, sing to grandpa, dance for him; he loved seeing grandpa burst into laughter...
When the car braked, as soon as the doors opened, Zhou Xiaozheng held Ping’an and Zhang Guoqing simultaneously got out. A crowd immediately surged towards the emergency room.
Before reaching the door, a nurse was already waiting. Seeing the crowd, she immediately approached.
"Chief, the madam has been resuscitated, please follow me to the ward."
Zhang Guoqing quickly steadied his father-in-law, taking the child in stride, "Comrade, what was unclear over the phone earlier, could you please explain the situation specifically?"
The person walked briskly ahead, explaining as they went: "She was found in the suburbs and brought here immediately, and after gastric lavage, she is out of danger. However, the patient’s emotions are very agitated, with a weak will to survive, and she refuses treatment.
We hope you can try to convince her. The patient is now severely dehydrated, and the director is waiting for your decision on whether to force sedatives."
Zhang Guoqing glanced at his father-in-law’s ashen face, seeing he had no intention of responding, he continued, "We’ll make a decision after we see her."
At this point, Zhou Xiaozheng was filled with anger. How capable she was, even playing with suicide. If she really wanted to die, wasn’t there any easier way? Why waste pesticides and hospital resources?
Once he reached the ward’s door, Zhou Xiaozheng nodded to the doctors and went straight into the inner room.
He saw Lin Lishan at once, her eyes tightly closed, her face as white as paper, hands gripping the white mat beneath her, veins bulging on her hands.
Zhou Xiaozheng spoke up immediately, "Open your eyes!"
Lin Lishan shuddered and slowly opened her eyes, which were dull and lifeless, blankly looking at him.
"Look at the mess you’ve made, it’s a disgrace. Cooperate with the doctors, and we’ll go home early," he said.
At the mention of going home, Lin Lishan’s eyes slowly brightened, then dimmed again as she recalled something, lowering her gaze, her chapped lips trembling slightly, "I know everything, I can’t go back."
Zhou Xiaozheng raised an eyebrow, "I permit you to go home."
"I can’t go back, Brother Zheng, I really can’t go back."
"Lin Lishan, you’ve got some nerve, daring not to listen to me."
Zhang Guoqing, listening intently outside the door, holding his son, said to the people behind him, "Please wait outside for a moment, let the child say a few words to his grandma."
"Alright, make her cooperate with the treatment as soon as possible."
Seeing everyone leave, Zhang Guoqing knocked on the open door, walked to the bedside, set the child down, and smiled, "Mom, you scared us to death. Get well soon, and we’ll go home together."
Lin Lishan shook her head with tears, "I can’t go back. This time, I truly can’t go back."
Zhang Guoqing was most annoyed with these women who talked about dying. Too bad she was his mother-in-law, if it were anyone else, he would have said, if you want to die, isn’t slitting your throat quicker?
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