ASSHKHME Chapter 98

Jiangbei First People’s Hospital.

In the family waiting area outside the operating room, a suffocating silence permeated the air between life and death.

Xie Yu’s eyes were red from the strong smell of disinfectant. He leaned against the cold white wall, staring intently at the tightly closed door.

The sudden change of events caught him completely off guard.

The chaotic and anxious scene from an hour ago was like a faded and blurred black and white photograph in an old film, constantly replaying and flashing in his mind, accompanied by a roaring tinnitus.

Every frame was like a rusty needle piercing his heart, densely packed, making him anxious and burning with worry.

The corridor in front of the operating room suddenly seemed to stretch far away, Xie Yu’s tall figure becoming fragile and small, his mind a chaotic mess.

It was the weekend, and Cheng Tangyu had given the housekeeper a day off. The family of three had a happy lunch together.

Xie Yu returned to his room to get some summer clothes to take back to school.

Suddenly, he heard his father’s anxious shouts from downstairs. Through the not-quite-closed door, he heard, “Wife! Wife, what’s wrong?! Don’t worry, don’t worry! Take a deep breath!”

Xie Yu’s heart jumped. He dropped the clothes in his hand and hurried downstairs.

He saw Cheng Tangyu, who had just been smiling, covered in sweat, clutching her stomach in pain, leaning on Xie Liangjun’s shoulder, breathing rapidly and erratically, her chest heaving violently. She looked at him with an indescribable expression: “Xiao Yu, what, you…”

Xie Yu’s mind went blank. He didn’t understand what had happened. He knelt anxiously beside Cheng Tangyu and saw her pajamas soaked with amniotic fluid. He panicked and said, “Mom, what’s wrong? Did your water break? Weren’t you just fine? Dad! Hospital! We need to go to the hospital!”

Xie Yu tried to pick Cheng Tangyu up, but Xie Liangjun slapped his hand away. He looked at Xie Liangjun in confusion, “Dad, what are you doing? Mom’s water broke! We need to go to the hospital!”

Xie Liangjun’s voice trembled with tension, but he remained rational, saying in a deep voice, “I’ve called 120. The ambulance will be here soon. Hurry and get the hospital bag from our bedroom, and then tell Secretary Tian to contact Gao Yuan at the People’s Hospital!”

Xie Yu was consumed with worry for his mother and didn’t notice Xie Liangjun’s unusual emotions. He tried to stay calm, “Okay, I understand!”

He quickly stood up and was about to run when he caught a glimpse of the tablet computer lying on the wooden floor, still playing.

It was the scene of him secretly sneaking out of the house to find Chen Zhuo on New Year’s Eve, kissing Chen Zhuo in the elevator of the Cloud Top Hotel, only four or five seconds, but it seemed like it was in slow motion.

Xie Yu’s mind buzzed, and he froze in place.

At the same time, the ambulance’s urgent siren cut through the air, “Peep peep——”

Xie Liangjun’s face was full of disappointment. He roared, “What are you standing there for, you little bastard! Go upstairs and get the hospital bag!”

Xie Yu suddenly snapped back to reality, shifted his gaze away from the screen, and, not caring about anything else, rushed upstairs almost at a hundred-meter sprint, grabbed the prepared hospital bag, and rushed back downstairs.

Cheng Tangyu was carried onto the ambulance by the doctors on a stretcher, her hair and clothes soaked with sweat. She grabbed Xie Yu’s hand, holding it tightly, as if she wanted to say something to Xie Yu, but could only groan in pain.

Xie Yu’s mind was numb. He didn’t dare to look at his mother’s eyes, and spoke incoherently, “Mom, you’ll be okay. When you get better, you can hit me however you want. Hang in there. I’m sorry, Mom. It’s my fault. You have to keep going. You must hang in there…”

His throat choked, and he couldn’t lift his head, no matter what he did. Chen Zhuo had reminded him many times to be low-key and restrained, but he stubbornly thought it didn’t matter.

It was all his fault. It was his willfulness and stupidity that caused his mother to be stimulated and go into labor prematurely, causing his unborn sister or brother to face premature birth…

It was only a little over eight months, and his mother was an elderly mother. The whole family had taken great care to prevent anything from happening, but now he had angered her and damaged her health.

His mother had to walk through the gates of hell to give birth to him, and now she was suffering because of him…

“Slap!”

Xie Yu’s face was turned to the side by a loud slap, and he snapped back to reality from his regretful emotions. The white light above his head was dazzling, and his cheek quickly became red and swollen, burning with pain.

Xie Liangjun’s eyes were filled with red veins. He lowered his voice, which trembled, and said, “You bastard! If anything happens to your mother today! I won’t spare you!”

Xie Yu’s eyes were red, and he didn’t say a word. The soft flesh in his mouth was crushed, and his mouth was full of the taste of rusty blood.

He still stared at the tightly closed door, and tears finally broke through the barriers and slipped out of his eyes. He wiped them away messily, but couldn’t wipe them clean.

It wasn’t because of the pain, but because of fear. Xie Yu couldn’t accept the possibility of losing his mother.

He turned around, faced the white wall, lowered his head, raised his arm to cover his tearful eyes, and choked, “It’s my fault, I’m sorry to Mom.”

Xie Liangjun sighed deeply, rubbed his face, and seemed to have aged ten years in a short period of time.

He looked at his son, who was already taller and stronger than him, with his shoulders slumped as he wiped away tears, and felt both distressed and angry.

He said in a deep voice, “I don’t care what you’re doing with that kid Chen Zhuo, but break it off immediately! Do you hear me! I’ve spoiled you too much. You dare to cause any trouble!”

As Xie Liangjun’s unquestionable ending trailed off, Xie Yu’s phone rang in his pocket.

Xie Yu turned around and looked at Xie Liangjun. He didn’t answer the phone, but just put his hand in his pocket.

He clenched the phone tightly, as if he was holding Chen Zhuo’s hand.

The two fathers and sons faced each other in silence.

Xie Yu’s voice was hoarse, and after a long while, he said with difficulty, “Dad, I can’t agree to this.”

Xie Liangjun was furious. He couldn’t believe that his son, whom he had raised so carefully, would do such an absurd thing. He poked Xie Yu’s chest hard, saying in disappointment, “Xie Yu, are you out of your mind? You’re both men! What will people think of you?! Aren’t you ashamed! You have no shame! Your mother and I still do!”

The operating room door opened, and a nurse hurried out, asking, “Who is Cheng Tangyu’s family!”