Surgery Godfather-Chapter 408 - 0380 Like a Song Like a Cry
Chapter 408: Chapter 0380: Like a Song, Like a Cry
Chapter 408: Chapter 0380: Like a Song, Like a Cry
On the fourth day after Yang Ping visited Professor Feng in the ICU, Professor Feng was weaned off the ventilator, his sedatives were discontinued, and he woke up.
Mo Sixth immediately got ready for Professor Feng’s surgery. When Professor Feng woke up, Professor Zhang stayed by his bedside.
“Elder brother, why are you here?” Professor Feng’s tears welled up.
Professor Zhang sat by the bed and patted the back of Professor Feng’s hand. “If not for your surgery, you’ve lost so much weight. If you were to donate your body now, I’m afraid it wouldn’t meet the quality standards. Better to live a few more years, put some meat on your bones, then donate.”
Professor Feng gave a bitter smile, his old friend was still teasing him even in this moment.
“Did Jiangong also come?”
Although Professor Feng had just woken up, his mind was still clear.
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Professor Zhang nodded. “He’s been here for quite a few days, staying in the neighboring hotel. When you were first put on the ventilator, he also came and watched you through the glass in the visiting corridor.”
“Why didn’t he come in, that child?” Professor Feng said, slightly irritated.
Professor Zhang snorted: “That slap of yours sent him away for fifteen years. How dare he see you, for fear that seeing him would cause you to have a heart attack.”
Professor Feng looked around the ward. There were doctors and nurses from the ICU guarding it. Understanding what Professor Feng meant, Professor Zhang told the doctors and nurses, “You all go and get busy. I’m going to chat with Professor Feng.”
The ICU doctors and nurses left. With Professor Zhang there, they felt at ease. Moreover, there was video surveillance. If anything were to happen, they would be able to intervene immediately.
“As you know, I have been thinking about this for the past fifteen years. Jiangong is even more careful and cautious than Zhigang, so how could he possibly use a periosteal stripper to press the rod?” Professor Feng, who had just woken up, was very weak and coughed between his words.
Professor Zhang helped him pat his back, letting him cough up the phlegm from his respiratory tract smoothly. “After the patient was paralyzed in all four limbs, the two of us together took the operating table, reopened the patient’s cervical spinal canal, and indeed the spinal cord was contused. There was a hematoma under the dura mater. We performed an incision, removed the hematoma and relieved the pressure, and in the end the patient’s muscle strength was restored to grade three and then stopped, leaving him with a lifelong disability.”
“What a pity!” Professor Feng was more comfortable.
Professor Zhang took his phlegm wrapped in tissue and threw it into the trash bin. “This is a mystery, who exactly used the periosteal stripper to inflict contusion? But I am sure it wasn’t Han Jiangong, even though he admitted it himself.”
“Elder brother, I have been thinking that Jiangong probably knew about Zhigang’s relationship with me a long time ago. He wanted Zhigang to take my place, but I had made up my mind. He was struggling without a way out, and he took this opportunity to take advantage of the situation and fulfilled Zhigang’s wishes.” Professor Feng sighed.
Professor Zhang looked at Professor Feng. “I’ve been keeping this from you for fifteen years. Did you know? Zhigang has secretly visited the patient every year since, quietly supplementing the patient with a lot of money, even helping the patient’s son get a decent job in Shanghai. The patient’s family is very grateful to him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t know any of this! I’ve always been wondering, knowing them as well as I do, Jiangong wouldn’t make such a mistake, nor would he leave in a huff because of my slap.” The vague intuition of Professor Feng was confirmed by Professor Zhang.
“At that time, the anesthesiologist, Old Liao, found me privately to discuss the matter. He overheard Zhigang and Jiangong’s whispered conversation. Jiangong probably suggested to report to you, but Zhigang refused. He didn’t hear very clearly, so he didn’t dare to be sure. He didn’t dare to tell you. Everything points to the fact that the one who made the mistake at that time should be Zhigang. Jiangong just took advantage of the situation and helped Zhigang.” Professor Zhang laid it all out.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Professor Feng’s tears welled up again.
Professor Zhang shook his head. “Do you still understand that kid Jiangong? If he’s determined to help Zhigang, we have no way of stopping him. And by the time I knew something was off, it was already several years later. And it was still conjecture at that point, with no concrete evidence. At that time, Zhigang had already taken up the position of Director, and Jiangong had been gone for several years. What’s done is done, what would you have us do? We had already ruined one life, were we to ruin another? Moreover, he is your son. How could I bring myself to do it?”
Professor Zhang lowered his voice.
Professor Feng tearfully asked, “Where’s Zhigang, why hasn’t he arrived yet? Have him come over!”
“I had him go to your house to pick up some things. The surgery is tomorrow, and who knows, he might not make it down. The things you wanted me to take care of, I didn’t do as you asked. I thought that while you still had a breath, I’d let him call you ‘Dad’.” Professor Zhang was a bit emotional, but his voice was very low.
“I don’t deserve it, which is why I’ve always…” Professor Feng gasped.
Professor Zhang caressed his chest: “You deserve this. You never let them down, but life is unpredictable, and things often go awry.”
Professor Feng waved his hand, unable to speak, and Professor Zhang comforted him: “It’s okay, the chief surgeon performing your operation tomorrow is Jiangong’s student. The young man’s talent is extremely high, and experts from the United States highly recommended him for this role. He can ensure an eighty percent success rate for your surgery.”
“How is that possible? Don’t comfort me, I don’t care about the success rate,” said Professor Feng as he caught his breath.
—
As per Professor Zhang’s request, Hong Zhigang hurried to Professor Feng’s home, a place he often visited and was very familiar with.
He groped around, using the key Professor Zhang had given him to open the desk drawer in the study. Inside was an old notebook, something akin to a diary.
This must be what Professor Zhang asked him to fetch. Carefully, he opened the notebook. Inside was an old photograph, and Hong Zhigang was immediately thunderstruck.
His shaking hand picked up the photograph—wasn’t this photograph of his own mother?
It was identical to the one he had kept, but how did this photograph come to be in the hands of his mentor?
This was the only photo left by his mother. A refined and beautiful face, adorned with a radiant smile, her hair tied up in a ponytail and a backdrop of the river among peach trees in the photograph studio.
According to his uncle, his mother passed away due to cardiac failure three days after giving him birth. The knowledge Hong Zhigang had of his mother was through this photograph given by his uncle. Now, his mentor also had one.
Underneath the photo was a letter, written on it was: “To my son, Hong Zhigang”
To my son? Hong Zhigang?
Hong Zhigang’s head began to spin. He suppressed his shock and opened the envelope.
“Zhigang, when you read this letter, I’ll have left this world—Your mother and I couldn’t be together due to certain circumstances, but we never gave up on one another. To avoid jeopardizing my career, she didn’t tell me about her pregnancy. Before she left, she made your uncle promise not to let this matter affect me. I remained unmarried all my life due to this love. It was only when your uncle came to see me that I learned about your existence—I dare not call myself your father—I’m filled with profound regret. If I had known the truth, I would have brought your mother here no matter what—Time flew by, and several decades passed in a blink—I have one last wish, there is a set of clothes in the safe in my study. I wore these work clothes when I was in Huzhou, where I met your mother. My request is for these clothes to be buried next to your mother’s grave. Unable to be together in life, may we be as neighbors in death—”
Tears welled up in Hong Zhigang’s eyes. Everything made sense now, just that it was all too abrupt, too bizarre.
The love story of this nearly eighty-year-old man, the sacrifices both parties made to hold on to their love.
To avoid impacting the father’s prospects, the mother lied about getting engaged and urged him to marry someone else.
The commitment to this love made the father remain unmarried all his life. He went to Huzhou to find the mother only to come face to face with a mound of earth.
Slumped in the chair, Hong Zhigang wasn’t in a position to blame this lonely old man, his own father, whom he’d never met but who has been there as a kind fatherly figure.
He remembered the first time they met, in the hallway of the Orthopedics department of Mo Sixth hospital. The professor was leading his students, his white gown crisp and neat. Hong Zhigang and Han Jiangong stood in the hallway. Seeing their shy faces, the professor asked them to stop.
Hong Zhigang was very nervous, thinking he did something wrong and bracing himself for severe criticism. The professor simply reached out and fastened a button on Hong Zhigang’s white gown and helped him adjust the clothing.
“Hold your head high and uplift your spirit. Learn to respect and enjoy your work.”
As it turned out, the place the Professor always held dear in his heart is where his beloved resided. He remained a bachelor all life, watching over the sacred love in his heart.
The depth of his love and the pain of missing her lasted for dozens of years, countless lonely nights, the old professor kept thinking of his beloved one.
