Disobedience To Control chapter 48
Rib
Ten minutes later, Yang Xiaobei was wheeled out of the operating room. Song Siheng hurried over, only to see him with his eyes open, but the anesthesia seemed to have not worn off completely.
He was wrapped in thick white medical gauze on his chest, with a drainage tube protruding from the corner of the gauze, resting on the side of the hospital bed. He still had an IV drip on his arm. But the bed didn’t stop in the aisle; instead, it turned directly into the adjacent corridor.
“What’s wrong?” Song Siheng asked anxiously as he approached.
“After surgery, he needs to be observed in the ICU for 48 hours. The family should go home first,” a nurse passing by said to Song Siheng, “The surgery went smoothly, don’t worry.”
Only then did Song Siheng relax, taking a step back and watching as the nurse pushed the hospital bed into the ICU ward on the other side of the corridor.
With the last surgery completed, the doctors from the operating room also followed out. Under the bright white lights of the corridor, two doctors walked in front, and Fu Xuehua walked at the back of the crowd. Several doctors all looked very tired.
Song Siheng nodded in acknowledgment to Fu Xuehua as she slowly raised her head, but her face was getting paler and paler.
The doctor walking in front greeted Song Siheng, “The surgery was quite successful.”
Song Siheng nodded in thanks and then asked again, “But why did the surgery take so long today? Was there a problem in the middle?”
The doctor exhaled and took off his mask, “There were some complications during the surgery. The patient had two episodes of bleeding.”
Song Siheng’s heart tightened at the news, and he subconsciously looked down the corridor.
“Thanks to Doctor Fu’s steady and accurate hands, we managed to save the patient,” the doctor continued, seeming to still be a bit apprehensive, “Fortunately, it was a close call, but we managed to close the chest smoothly in the end.”
Fu Xuehua stood behind the two, silent, but her complexion grew increasingly worse.
As Song Siheng turned around to speak to her, he suddenly heard a doctor beside him exclaim, “Doctor Fu!!!”
Song Siheng quickly turned around, catching Fu Xuehua as she fell straight onto the tiled floor.
“It might be hypoglycemia! I’ll go get some glucose!” The doctor next to Song Siheng hurriedly ran towards the nurse’s station on the same floor.
Half an hour later, Yang Xiaobei had been successfully sent to the ICU.
Meanwhile, Fu Xuehua, who had fainted, was settled into the doctor’s office. Half-leaning on the folding bed for rest, she finally regained consciousness.
Song Siheng stood by the door of the office, watching as the resident doctor inside handed Fu Xuehua some chocolate.
“Doctor Fu, are you alright?” the doctor asked cautiously.
Fu Xuehua calmed her breath and shook her head slightly. “Nothing serious, just stood in the operating room for too long, and suddenly felt dizzy.”
The resident doctor still seemed worried and softly advised, “Go downstairs for a checkup tomorrow, just to be safe.”
Song Siheng looked at Fu Xuehua and, after a moment, spoke, “Thank you, Doctor Fu.”
Fu Xuehua was momentarily surprised, then forced a weak smile. “You’re welcome.”
The door to the doctor’s office closed, and Song Siheng stood outside, staring into the dark night for a while before turning back and heading downstairs.
Since he couldn’t visit the ICU, he didn’t get to see Yang Xiaobei again. But in the hospital, no news was good news.
He had to temporarily set his mind at ease and go home to rest.
He hadn’t been back to the apartment in the city for several days, and it felt desolate. Originally, Jin Shuming had invited him out for drinks that day, but Song Siheng declined. Firstly, he didn’t have the energy, and secondly, at this stage, he couldn’t have too much contact with Jin Shuming in public.
After not sleeping well for a long time, Song Siheng lay on the bed after washing up and surprisingly fell asleep in less than five minutes.
Yang Xiaobei spent 48 hours in observation in the ICU. Song Siheng couldn’t visit, so he only received occasional photos from the nurse on duty.
He looked at Yang Xiaobei’s still-pale complexion in the photos, with his cheeks lacking color, and his beautiful large eyes slightly sunken.
Most of the time, he was pictured with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. He wore light blue clothing and lay on a light blue bed, his once tall and strong body now appearing frail.
On Thursday morning at 10 o’clock, after the postoperative observation ended, the nurse brought him back to the private ward on the top floor.
After two days of fasting and no water, the doctor finally allowed Yang Xiaobei to drink a small amount of water. However, he was still not allowed to speak loudly, as the doctor feared his heart rate might spike again.
As soon as Song Siheng entered the ward, he saw Yang Xiaobei gesturing to the nurse with a white face.
Song Siheng walked over and asked, “What are you doing?”
Yang Xiaobei raised his eyebrows slightly and pointed to his mouth, making a zipper motion. Song Siheng noticed the veins on his hand, the faint blue veins making him look even weaker.
“Ah!” The nurse turned her head and pressed his hand down. “The doctor said not to move around randomly. Your wound hasn’t healed yet.”
Yang Xiaobei sighed, covering the bandage on his chest and tilting his head back.
Song Siheng walked to the side of the bed, pulled out a chair, and sat down, asking, “Can’t talk now?”
Yang Xiaobei shook his head slightly and replied softly, suppressing his voice, “The doctor said not to speak loudly. This is all I can do for now.”
“What’s it like in the ICU?” Song Siheng asked, turning his head.
Yang Xiaobei shook his head absentmindedly, then glanced at him and made a pitiful expression, speaking in a very soft voice, “It’s cold inside. The next bed had an old man who groaned all night, giving me nightmares.”
Song Siheng was about to tell him to keep quiet when Yang Xiaobei continued, “I was half-asleep and overheard the nurse chatting with the patient next to me. They said it costs over twenty thousand a day to stay here. I wished I could get up and run away.”
Song Siheng didn’t look closely at the bill, but he knew Yang Xiaobei’s expenses these past two days far exceeded that amount.
He remembered something, opened his phone, scrolled through the album, and then opened a photo, passing it to Yang Xiaobei.
“What’s this?” Yang Xiaobei asked softly.
“I visited Liyuan Gymnasium before the Spring Festival.”
Yang Xiaobei’s breath paused, then he glanced at the photo. The picture showed the exterior of Liyuan’s building, but it looked somewhat desolate with few people around.
“What’s it like inside now?” Yang Xiaobei seemed indifferent, his gaze elsewhere.
Song Siheng recalled, “The facilities inside are a bit old, but the swimming pool is well maintained.”
Yang Xiaobei seemed to want to say something more but hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his words.
The dust had not yet settled; one should not make hasty promises.
On the cabinet next to the bed lay a folder with the expenses for his hospitalization over the past few days. Yang Xiaobei glanced at it inadvertently and was shocked by the numbers on it.
“Damn it,” he almost coughed.
“What’s wrong?” Song Siheng followed his gaze.
“You’re really rich.” He pointed at the bill, looking down at his own hand, then looked pitifully at Song Siheng. “You won’t ask me to pay you back when I’m discharged, will you?”
Song Siheng chuckled speechlessly. “I don’t need your money.”
“If I had known back then, I wouldn’t have returned that watch to you,” Yang Xiaobei lightly pressed his chest where the bandage was, “I found out later online that your watch is worth tens of thousands.”
“If you didn’t return it to me, were you planning to sell it?” Song Siheng glanced at him.
“What else could I do? You kicked me out with one foot. Am I supposed to keep that thing as a token of affection?” Yang Xiaobei couldn’t restrain his volume, and his heart rate surged, almost attracting the nurse.
Song Siheng clicked his tongue, “It’s a good thing I didn’t let you take it. It would’ve been a waste of such a good thing.”
The two bantered for a bit, and Song Siheng didn’t bother to say much more to him. He had just come out of the ICU in the morning; he didn’t want to stimulate him again and send him back in.
Soon, there was a knock on the door of the ward. Song Siheng glanced out through the small window and walked over to open the door.
The next moment, Li Ke walked in, seeing Yang Xiaobei lying in bed with bandages, he nodded in greeting.
Yang Xiaobei waved gently at him, forcing a smile onto his pallid face. “Secretary Li, hello!”
Li Ke heard his almost breathless voice and felt a bit bewildered. “What does this mean?”
“Don’t you like this title?”
“Not really, just call me by my name. My surname is Li, Li Ke.”
“Okay, Secretary Li Ke,” Yang Xiaobei nodded repeatedly.
Li Ke rubbed his earlobe and decided not to correct him anymore.
He turned to look at Song Siheng, “The structure on Jin Shuming’s side has been set up. Should we go out to discuss?”
Song Siheng was sitting by the window and pulled out a chair for him. “You can chat here with your laptop.”
Li Ke glanced at Yang Xiaobei out of the corner of his eye. Song Siheng understood his implication. “It’s fine. He won’t say much.”
Yang Xiaobei immediately straightened up and zipped his mouth shut with his hand. The nurse handed him a cup of water through a straw, and Yang Xiaobei took it and drank slowly.
It wasn’t until the nurse left the room that Li Ke opened his laptop and pushed the screen towards Song Siheng. The two of them talked for about five minutes, and Song Siheng nodded. “Alright, continue to assist him with his project. Also, keep our informant monitoring Xu Lang’s side.”
Li Ke acknowledged and quickly packed up his laptop, adjusted his coat, nodded at the two men, and left the ward.
“Xu Lang?” Yang Xiaobei looked at Song Siheng. “Is he your senior brother? Didn’t you suspect me of contacting him before?”
“Yes,” Song Siheng took the water cup from him and placed it on the bedside cabinet.
“You’re going after him?”
“Why are you so straightforward?” Song Siheng looked at him.
“I don’t understand the contradictions among you rich people.” Yang Xiaobei licked his dry lips. “As long as you don’t drag me into trouble next time.”
As soon as he said that, it seemed like a thorn pricked Song Siheng’s heart.
Regardless of how Song Qin and Xu Lang targeted him, they shouldn’t involve Yang Xiaobei, an outsider, in their conflicts.
He wanted to say something, but swallowed his words. The relationship between the two of them was somewhat delicate now, and he felt trapped.
On the other hand, Yang Xiaobei pondered for a while before suddenly asking him, “But I don’t understand, that Song Qin, isn’t he your real brother? Why does he keep making things difficult for you?”
“Did he not tell you when he came to see you last year?”
Yang Xiaobei shook his head slightly, “He suddenly appeared on New Year’s Eve last year, indeed scaring me, but at that time, he only said he wanted to give me money and asked me to do something for him. He didn’t explain clearly what it was, and I didn’t agree. Then he threatened me with the competition. I didn’t know it would escalate into such a big deal later.” After saying a long string of words, Yang Xiaobei took a deep breath, then continued, “Aren’t you real brothers? Why did it come to this?”
Song Siheng laughed at himself and then looked up. “He probably feels that all his pain is somehow related to me.”
“Is he jealous of you?” Yang Xiaobei guessed.
“Yes, and not entirely.” Song Siheng remembered what Song Qin had said to him in the backyard of the villa that night, and sensed another meaning behind it. “Jealousy, hatred, resentment, probably all of it.”
After pondering for a moment, he picked and chose some of the things about Song Ping and Song Qin to tell him. Yang Xiaobei sighed as he listened.
“Is this what they call sibling rivalry?” Yang Xiaobei licked his slightly dry lips.
“You even know about sibling rivalry? Your vocabulary is not small.” Song Siheng teased.
“Are you looking down on me? Who hasn’t received nine years of compulsory education? I even know phrases like ‘congratulations and prosperity’, ‘good luck and great prosperity’, ‘surplus year after year’, ‘still graceful and charming’.” Yang Xiaobei spoke fluently, panting a little, and his heart rate surged again.
“Just shut up.” Song Siheng dunked the cup into the water and stuck the straw under his nose.
Seeing his attitude turn fierce, Yang Xiaobei immediately hugged his chest and exclaimed, “No, no, my ribs hurt when someone scolds me.”
“Is it really painful?”
“It really hurts, oops, it’s a piercing pain.” He frowned as he spoke.
Song Siheng was startled by his exaggerated expression and gently held his cheeks with one hand, covering his hand with the other, drawing closer to ask, “Which rib hurts? Show me.”
Song Siheng’s eyelashes almost brushed against Yang Xiaobei’s cheek, their palms touching, their warm breaths intermingling.
But after only two or three seconds, Song Siheng realized that the atmosphere was somewhat inappropriate.
He quickly distanced himself a bit and reached out to press the emergency call button. “Let me call the nurse for you.”
However, Yang Xiaobei grabbed his neck and buried himself in his chest, muttering, “No need, just let me rest like this for a while.”