Chapter 140: Tumor - Additional chapter for friends who sent tourmalines and diamonds

Long Jue hesitated for a moment. "Third Sister-in-law..."

I forced a smile. "It's fine. Let's not ruin the harmony."

They had no choice but to let go. The man strode over, glanced at me a few times as he reached my side, and walked straight into the hospital room.

Gai Nie and Long Jue rushed over, but I blocked them both. "Aren't you tired? Go back and get some sleep."

Gai Nie glanced at the retreating figure. "Third Sister-in-law, he..."

I shushed him. "It's fine. Go back now."

They walked away sheepishly, and even after walking some distance, they still made a gesture of making a phone call.

I took a deep breath, stopped A Mu who was about to follow us inside, and entered the hospital room alone.

Yuan Shengqi was standing by the hospital bed. As I walked closer, I heard his voice: "I'm sorry, it's my fault for failing to discipline my three younger brothers properly."

I walked over and stood in front of him. "There's no need to apologize. We were at fault too, especially me."

He couldn't help but look me over twice more. "They told me Luo Ange wanted to break up with my sister for another girl, and I wouldn't believe it. My sister is so outstanding, she completely deserves Luo Ange. Seeing you now, I understand. I know where my sister lost."

I gave a noncommittal response. "The one who should apologize is me. It was my negligence that caused pain to Miss Yuan. Once Luo Ange gets a little better, I will go see Miss Yuan and offer her a formal apology."

He smiled, his gaze fixed intently on me. "Meeting you is Luo Ange's good fortune."

I smiled back. "And meeting him is surely my good fortune as well."

He said a few words expressing the hope that the Luo, Guan, and Yuan families could coexist peacefully, and then politely took his leave.

As soon as he left, Gai Nie and Long Jue arrived, both asking whether Yuan Shengqi had given me a hard time.

After listening to my account, Gai Nie sighed, "Sigh, of this Yuan family, only that guy has any sense of reason."

Luo Ange had still not woken up. I explained the situation to Elder Zhou, telling him that I probably wouldn't be able to come over and help for some time.

He was very understanding, or perhaps he had heard something, and told me to take a leave of absence while also asking if I had enough money.

I suddenly realized that there were far too many good people around me, including my dad. He didn't know where he heard about the incident, but he returned from a business trip in the dead of night and rushed straight to the hospital, stuffing a bank card into my hand before leaving.

He couldn't possibly be unaware that money was the last thing Luo Ange lacked, but since he insisted, I had no choice but to accept it.

My mom was the same. After hearing what my dad said, she boiled various soups three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—and had them delivered to the hospital. Although Gai Nie, Long Jue, and the others ended up drinking most of them, my mom's thoughtfulness was evident.

In the past, I had been too radical and never realized they were also such good people.

Xia Qi also rushed back the moment she heard the news, keeping me company at the hospital every day.

When Luo Ange woke up, I was reading the newspaper to him with rapt attention when I suddenly heard his voice: "Don't worry..."

It took me a moment of bewilderment to understand. At that instant, I turned into a coward; I simply didn't dare to look at him. I covered my face with the newspaper and wept aloud, only remembering to press the call button for the doctor a moment later.

An overwhelming wave of joy surrounded me like a tornado, and fireworks burst in my world. I slumped over Luo Ange's chest and continued to cry aloud.

However, when he uttered those few words, I suddenly felt as though my world had gone dark.

"Why isn't the light on?"

My world not only went dark; it was once again pressed on mute, and I could hear nothing at all.

After a very long time, someone shook me violently, and I finally saw the scene before me clearly.

Luo Ange was curled up on the bed, clutching his head, while several doctors and Guan Shanyuan tried to hold him down. But his strength was too great; he shook them off and rolled off the bed.

That blond, blue-eyed foreign doctor had no choice but to give him a sedative. After struggling for a bit, with his gaze vacant and focused on a certain point, he slowly quieted down.

I asked the foreign doctor in English why he couldn't see.

After asking this question, I saw everyone else, including Guan Shanyuan, lower their heads, not daring to look at me. I suddenly started to laugh. So they had known what was going on all along, and I was the only one kept in the dark.

Long Jue nervously supported me. "Lanshan, Lanshan, listen to my explanation. The reason we kept it from you is because..."

Guan Shanyuan's voice came through: "Because he has two tumors growing in his brain, which are pressing on his optic nerves."

I cried my voice hoarse by the hospital sink. Long Jue squatted in front of me, a look of deep regret on his face: "Third Sister-in-law, don't scare me. Say something, please?"

I forced out a hoarse voice: "Will... will he die?"

He shook his head. "No. With Brad here, everything will definitely be fine."

I asked: "When was it discovered? Why keep it from me? Tell me everything, detail by detail."

Long Jue got up and sat beside me. "It was discovered a long time ago, but Third Brother never told us, and even kept it from Brad. If not for this time, I don't know how much longer it would have been kept secret. In the past, we only thought Third Brother had frequent headaches, sometimes hurting so badly he would roll around on the floor..."

I beat my own head with my hands. It's all my fault, all my fault. I should have realized something was wrong back in Jingnan; how could I have been so careless?

Long Jue pulled my hands away. "Third Sister-in-law, don't be like this. Third Brother needs you the most right now."

Early the next morning, Luo Ange woke up. While the rest of us were discussing whether to send him abroad for recuperation, he called out my name.

Overjoyed, I ran over and grabbed his hand. "You're finally awake! You scared me to death."

He flinched slightly and called out to me again: "Don't worry..."

I sensed something was slightly amiss. Sure enough, after a three-second silence, he said, "Leave."

I didn't speak. A terrifying silence descended upon the hospital room. Guan Shanyuan and the others crowded around, all looking at me.

I forced a smile. "Luo Ange, what do you mean by this?"

He pulled his hand out of my grasp, his voice turning somewhat cold: "Leave. Don't come back anymore."

At this point, things could not have been more obvious. Strangely enough, I didn't shed a single tear. I said, "Luo Ange, I know what you're thinking. Don't even dream of finding some bullshit excuse to push me away. In this lifetime, even if I die, I won't leave. If you've got the ability, kill me."

He sneered. "You won't leave, right? Then I will. I never want to see you again."

With that, he flipped back the blanket and tried to get out of bed, only to be pinned down by Guan Shanyuan. "Luo the Third, have you lost your mind?"

Luo Ange suddenly shoved him away and lunged toward me. Although he couldn't see, he still accurately grabbed me by the neck. "I told you to leave. Go on, get out, did you hear me?"

He was very strong, but I didn't move. Instead, Gai Nie, Zhou Yang, and the others rushed over to separate us.

Brad rushed in with his team, took one look at the situation, and told Guan Shanyuan to drag me out.

I pressed myself against the door, watching a furious Luo Ange being pinned back onto the bed before someone injected him with a sedative once again.

I wanted to beg them to be gentler. I wanted to say that if possible, let me take his place. I wanted to tell him that if he was truly blind, I would become his walking stick. There were so many, many things I wanted to say, but I couldn't utter a single word.

After nearly an hour, Brad came out and looked at me. "He doesn't want to see you. Don't go and provoke him for now; take it slow. It will take some time for him to accept this reality."

I nodded. Even if it took a lifetime, I could wait.

Gai Nie and Long Jue accompanied me as I sat in the corridor. My throat was hoarse from crying, and the more I cried, the more panicked I felt, making that ominous premonition grow increasingly intense.

I kept pondering one question: since Luo Ange had discovered the tumor in his brain long ago, why did he keep it from everyone?

It was very simple—because the situation was extremely grave, which was why he had to hide it.

Especially, he had to keep it from me.

Brad was an authority in this field. It was said that patients who ended up in his hands, even if a hundred doctors had already pronounced them hopeless, were people he had the ability to snatch back from the Grim Reaper.

Yet, even he didn't dare to rashly perform surgery on Luo Ange, which proved that things must have reached the absolute worst-case scenario.

Especially when I saw Gai Nie and Long Jue, who were normally fearless enough to brave lightning strikes, trembling slightly, I knew deep down that the worst had already arrived.

If Luo Ange died, what would I do?

I didn't dare to think about it; I couldn't think about it...

Guan Shanyuan came out, stood before me for a long time, and sighed. "Go in and take a look. Once he wakes up, he'll probably chase you away again."

I nodded and walked inside with heavy steps. Brad was standing by the bed, and seeing me didn't mean to leave.

I knew he was the one who had told Guan Shanyuan to let me in; he must have something to tell me.

For some reason, my tears began to fall drop by drop again. I covered my eyes. "Please, please, don't say it yet, don't say it yet. Let me catch my breath..."

I knew that what he was about to tell me would be a bolt from the blue. I knew I couldn't bear it, and I knew things had already reached the worst.

This time, not even the gods could save me.

I cupped Luo Ange's hand and wiped all my tears and mucus onto it. He was in a deep sleep anyway; so what if he was a clean freak?

Brad handed me a tissue. I took it, sobbing intermittently, "Go ahead. I'm ready."

He nodded, pushed up his glasses, and told me in fluent, standard Mandarin: "The tumor was discovered three years ago. Because it was pressing on several nerves, we didn't dare to perform surgery lightly, and he himself rejected surgery, so we could only resort to conservative treatment. This car accident injured his head, and the violent impact caused the two tumors to fuse together, severely damaging his optic nerves."

His expression wasn't looking too good. I knew these few words were merely the prelude, and crueler words were waiting for me ahead.

"This is just the surface. Next, he will alternate between being conscious and unconscious, he will lose all his sense of taste, and he will..."

I covered my ears, begging him to stop talking. This was too cruel to me. We had finally reconciled; how could the heavens be so cruel?

Brad asked me, "Are you afraid?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid. In the past, I was afraid he would misunderstand me, reject me, insult me, or find another woman. But now, my greatest fear is waking up one day and never being able to see him again."

Brad looked as if a load had been lifted from his shoulders. "Actually, it's not that there's no way out..."