Disobedience To Control chapter 42
Xiaobei
The attending doctor in front of him obviously didn’t know that the man standing before him was the biological son of the head of the cardiothoracic surgery department.
“Dr. Fu rarely performs surgeries anymore, and her schedule is already booked until next year.”
“It’s okay, I’ll handle it.” Song Siheng nodded at the doctor.
Seeing his calm demeanor, the doctor didn’t say much either, just reminded him of some nursing precautions and then left the ward. The door was left slightly open, and Song Siheng picked up his phone on the table and glanced at it, then put it down again.
After yesterday’s farce, he hadn’t contacted Fu Xuehua again.
Five minutes later, he still picked up his phone again.
The call was very short, and the intention was very clear. After Song Siheng finished speaking, he hung up the phone. The person on the other end didn’t show much emotion.
Fu Xuehua arrived at the hospital an hour later, her hair neatly combed, tied in a low bun at the back of her head, wearing a clean white coat without wrinkles, and still wearing the gold-rimmed glasses she often wore, without any trace of the disheveled appearance from last night.
Song Siheng stood at the end of the corridor, looking at her as she came out of the elevator, raising his hand slightly in acknowledgment.
The two of them didn’t enter the ward but stood together in the deep end of the corridor. Song Siheng opened the window slightly, and the slightly cool breeze blew between them.
“I need you to help me save someone.” He looked down at the ground, and the wind blew cherry blossom petals, another overcast day.
Fu Xuehua seemed to know who Song Siheng was talking about, just looking at him without asking for more details.
“Okay.” Fu Xuehua agreed very quickly, and Song Siheng looked up somewhat surprised.
“The attending doctor said your surgery is scheduled for next year.”
“I have the time; I just don’t want to be as tired as before. If you ask, I can make room for you.” Fu Xuehua’s tone was calm, as if unaffected by the storm from yesterday.
“Thank you.” Song Siheng only said this much, then turned to enter the ward, but was stopped by Fu Xuehua.
“But I have one condition.”
The two were about a meter apart, and Fu Xuehua looked into her son’s eyes, “If the police ultimately do not identify him as the perpetrator, can you not pursue Song Qin’s matter?” Fu Xuehua’s tone trembled slightly, then she forced a smile and restrained more emotions.
Song Siheng took a deep breath, suppressing his anger as he spoke, “He said it himself. In my eyes, this is attempted murder.”
“But there’s no evidence yet that it was him, right?” Fu Xuehua glanced at the door of the ward and then turned back, “This is my only request.”
“I’ll consider it? This isn’t something I can decide now. As long as the police find evidence, it’s a criminal case that must be prosecuted! I can’t decide his fate!” Song Siheng turned to continue forward.
Fu Xuehua paused for a few seconds. Just as Song Siheng was about to open the door, she spoke, “His mental state is really not good. I know this is difficult for you, but…”
There was a hint of pleading in her tone. For so many years, Song Siheng had never seen Fu Xuehua like this.
“Why?” Song Siheng took two steps toward her again, his gaze fixed on the person in front of him, “Can you tell me why? Is he worth protecting like this to you? He ruined my business! He even tried to kill people around me! He’s gone crazy, and you still want to protect him?!”
Fu Xuehua pressed down his excited arm and averted her gaze, “You’re my son, and he is too! Now the problem is right in front of you, you just need to agree or disagree.”
Sometimes Song Siheng wondered if he had inherited most of Fu Xuehua’s temper. Her stubborn and reckless appearance, perhaps for others, they would have given in long ago.
Fu Xuehua looked out the window and explained in a deep voice to Song Siheng, “What Song Qin said last night is true. Song Ping did lie and hurt him. Song Qin has had a difficult time these years. I didn’t even know about his suicide attempts. Now I can’t just sit back and watch…”
Fu Xuehua didn’t finish her sentence. Song Siheng naturally understood her meaning; she couldn’t just watch her stepson of over thirty years go astray.
“Yes. Song Qin’s life matters, but what about his? Isn’t his life also valuable?!” Song Siheng pointed towards the door of the ward. In the quiet ward, there was only the faint beeping of the cardiac monitor.
“Mom, I can’t make this decision for him.” Song Siheng’s voice trembled slightly.
Hearing the word “Mom,” Fu Xuehua slowly raised her head to look at Song Siheng.
“Then, consider it as a mother’s plea.” Fu Xuehua’s tightly stretched lips finally twitched slightly, and there were faint tears in the corners of her eyes.
Song Siheng took a deep breath, and the cold wind outside became more noisy, pounding against the glass window in front of them.
Song Siheng looked into Fu Xuehua’s eyes, “Then tell me, what about his life? Last night, he was resuscitated until two in the morning. If I had arrived a moment later, he would have died! What about his life?! Life is precious, yes, but Song Qin has suffered. Haven’t others suffered too? Where does he get the right to harm others?!”
After about half a minute, Fu Xuehua turned her face aside, quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, and then turned back, “I will save his life. Even if the King of Hell wants to take him away, I will retrieve him for you. If I can’t save him, then Song Qin will be under your disposal. Is that okay?”
Song Siheng was stunned. There was a blank between them for a long time, just staring at each other. Then, Fu Xuehua didn’t say much more, she walked straight to the elevator lobby.
Song Siheng turned his head and only saw Fu Xuehua’s departing figure, a white, lonely figure.
Song Siheng spent the whole day at the hospital, and his chin grew a faint stubble.
On this day, Yang Xiaobei hardly opened his eyes, mostly sleeping, relying on the nutrient solution to sustain his intake. But he seemed to occasionally have nightmares, his fingertips trembling incessantly. At these times, Song Siheng would quickly hold his hand to calm him down.
The duty nurse came in at regular intervals to check on his condition and record the hourly cardiac data. The door of the ward opened and closed, dividing time into equal segments. Song Siheng stood by the window, watching the trees swaying in the wind outside, while his phone lay quietly on the table.
Work emails kept coming, but he didn’t open any of them.
Ding ding—
There was a faint ringtone in the ward. Song Siheng stood up, picked up his phone from the table, only to find out it wasn’t his incoming call.
He searched around until he found the source of the sound in the pocket of Yang Xiaobei’s coat from yesterday.
It was Yang Xiaobei’s phone.
Song Siheng took a glance at the phone screen, there was only one name displayed: “Zhao.”
The ringing continued incessantly, seemingly without any intention of stopping.
Song Siheng’s finger paused on his phone screen for a moment, but in the end, he answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Yang Xiaobei, you finally answered the phone.” The voice on the other end sounded urgent, “Where have you been all day? You didn’t answer the phone, nor did you reply to WeChat!”
“I’m not Yang Xiaobei.”
“Huh?” The person on the other end was stunned, “I’m sure I didn’t dial the wrong number.”
“It’s his number. What do you want with him?” Song Siheng asked.
“Oh, okay. You scared me. Is he okay? I haven’t been able to contact him since yesterday, I thought something happened to him.”
Song Siheng lowered his eyelids slightly, his Adam’s apple rolled, and he said softly, “Nothing serious. Are you close to him?”
“I’m his teammate. We have an intra-team practice match today, but he hasn’t come back, and we can’t reach him. I’m really worried.”
Song Siheng’s voice lowered, “He’s ill. He may not be able to come back for a while.”
The voice on the other end exploded, “What? He’s sick? Is it serious?!”
“He’s still under examination. Don’t worry.” Song Siheng tried to calm his tone.
“Okay, that’s good, as long as someone is taking care of him. But he has a package that’s been here for days, I think he filled in the wrong address, and it got sent to the school dormitory. Can you pick it up for him?”
Song Siheng was silent for two seconds, then replied, “Okay, tell me the building and dormitory number. I’ll pick it up tomorrow morning.”
“Building 7, Room 608. It’s the boys’ dormitory. Just go straight up the stairs.”
“Okay.”
Song Siheng hung up the phone.
The wind outside the window became more and more fierce. In this misty weather, the trees swayed, the flowers and plants shook, and the scenery of the world became blurred.
Coincidentally, as soon as he hung up the phone, his own phone rang. A familiar name popped up on the screen.
Seeing it clearly, Song Siheng immediately answered the call.
“Hello, Tim. What’s up?”
The male voice on the other end paused for a moment, then spoke, “Regarding the person you asked me to investigate last time, there’s news.”
Song Siheng’s breath paused, he glanced at Yang Xiaobei on the hospital bed. Then he lowered his eyelids and said to the phone, “What news?”
“Well, I re-screened students of his age with similar backgrounds, and I found a boy named ‘Ling Xiaobei’.”
“Ling Xiaobei?!”
“Yes, Ling as in ice, Xiao as in small.”
Song Siheng glanced back at the person on the hospital bed, who seemed to still be asleep.
After pondering for a moment, he finally walked out of the ward. “Please continue.”
“His experience seamlessly connects with the Yang Xiaobei you mentioned. This Ling Xiaobei was selected by the city training team when he was five years old. Since then, his performance has been excellent, and he even won championships in youth competitions.”
“Okay,” Song Siheng responded.
“Then, when he was fifteen, he participated in the National Galaxy Cup selection competition and won championships in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events. After the competition, he was noticed by a well-known professional coach in the country and was brought into the team.”
Galaxy Cup selection competition. Song Siheng paused when he heard about this competition, vaguely recalling seeing a poster in the storeroom of the Liyuan Sports Center when he was on a business trip to the northern city.
“However, here’s the strange part. When he was fifteen, after a team competition, he suddenly quit the team.”
“He quit?” Song Siheng held his breath for several seconds before asking further.
“Yes, his performance had been quite good before, but he suddenly left the team. And there was no announcement from the team; he just left quietly.”
Song Siheng sighed softly. “… Please continue.”
“After that, there was no public news about him for about three years. Until he was eighteen, there was a little new trace. I found his name in the registration list of an extracurricular tutoring institution, presumably preparing for college entrance exams. After that, the name Ling Xiaobei disappeared.”
“Are you suggesting…”
“It’s very likely that when he turned eighteen and became an adult, he changed his name. He used the name Yang Xiaobei to join the swimming team at Jiangcheng University.”
Song Siheng didn’t speak for about half a minute. After a while, he finally said, “Got it, thank you.”
The sky outside suddenly darkened, as if a downpour was about to descend. Dark clouds churned, and the air pressure was very low. Birds circled around the camphor trees downstairs.
Song Siheng stood for half an hour, replaying the words Tim had said on the phone just now in his mind.
It wasn’t until the first drop of rain fell outside the window, leaving a dark watermark on the windowsill, and the distant thunder faintly sounded, that Song Siheng turned around and returned to the ward.
Yang Xiaobei was still lying there, and apart from the regular jumping curves on the monitoring device, there was no other evidence of his existence.
Song Siheng walked to the bedside, gently sat down leaning against the bed, and reached out his right hand, lightly holding Yang Xiaobei’s right palm. The intravenous needle protruded into the skin, his palm was very cold, and rain began to fall in Song Siheng’s heart.