Chapter Sixty: Finally Got a Bed

Returned the rental house at the school gate and ceased the use of the campus laundry room; handed over all the work of the Student Union; resolved the matters related to ensuring a smooth graduation and then hurriedly left.
At 6:50 in the morning, a flight ticket from Shanghai to city W is priced at 850 yuan. I decided to purchase it.
"Contact us if there is any situation when you go back, and remember to let us know after the surgery."
"Master, come back early."
"Take good care of yourself. When you come back, we will go eat spicy chicken pot."
"You annoying woman, come back early. Without you by my side, it's too quiet and I feel a bit uneasy."
Every classmate and colleague around me is expressing their care for me.
Whether genuine or not, it doesn't matter anymore, because it will ultimately give me the courage to continue.
From school to Hongqiao Airport, it takes two hours in total to traverse the entire Shanghai, including taking the subway and transferring.
The first train of Shanghai Metro starts at 5:30 am, obviously the time cannot be connected.
Therefore, it is decided to stay at a hotel near Hongqiao Airport the night before, and there is free airport shuttle service.
After finishing the hotpot with a few classmates I have a good relationship with, I left alone.
At this moment, the night is accompanied by the clear and powerful sound of raindrops. Standing at the entrance of the campus, looking at the school, there is unexpectedly a touch of melancholy.
I started my first panic.
Will the surgery have risks?
Will I die on the operating table?
Will it make me worse or bedridden?
All the panic is like disturbed hornets' nest...
Rush in together!
If it's really like this, what should my mom do?
If it's really like this, will I still be able to meet that warm person like the sunshine?
Thoughts once led myself into the abyss, unable to find a way out.
I don't know how long I have been daydreaming on the subway. Finally, I arrived at Hongqiao Airport and hailed a taxi to the hotel.
"Miss, where are you going? Just got off the plane, huh?"
The taxi driver with a Shanghai accent and a smile on his face asked me.
"To the Hanting Hotel near the airport."
I politely responded to this genuine Shanghai local with so much Shanghai flavor.
"You little girl, you could have walked for just five minutes to get here, but you took a taxi. I helped you and you don't even know that I've been waiting in line here for almost an hour. It's a loss for both of us. I really want you to get off the car right now..."
Next came a string of incomprehensible Shanghainese words as they berated me one by one.
"I'm really sorry."
I started sincerely apologizing, expressing my remorse.
At that moment, it reminded me of R's father. If he had waited in line for a long time and managed to bring in a passenger who was very close to their destination, would he be able to make a profit that day?
How to deal with one month's rent?
How to manage the living expenses for a family?
In the perception of us outsiders, Shanghai people are stingy, Shanghai people are thrifty, Shanghai people are petty.
If it weren't for life's pressure, why would it be like this?
As the parking time ends, the meter shows 18 yuan.
"You tell me, after waiting for so long, I only earned 18 RMB, not enough to cover the cost of fuel. I worked for nothing in the morning."
The driver spoke to me in relatively standard Mandarin.
"I'm really sorry, but I'm not very familiar with the roads and I was afraid of getting lost, so I took a taxi."
Feeling guilty, I handed the driver 50 yuan and quickly got off the car.
Arriving at the hotel, it was already 8:30 in the evening.
Due to the two-hour time difference between Shanghai and Xinjiang, I, who had finished dinner with my friends at 5 o'clock, couldn't help feeling hungry.
Fortunately, there was my favorite Sha County snack at the hotel entrance.
Shredded pork with pickled cabbage noodles...
This is probably the taste I can best accept in Shanghai.
All other foods have a hint of sweetness.
"Mom, I have arrived at the hotel and bought a plane ticket for tomorrow morning around six o'clock. I'm afraid I won't catch the plane, so I'll stay near the airport and should be able to wake up at half past five in the morning."
Call mom and report my whereabouts immediately.
"It's amazing how we have such a strong connection, mom was just about to call you and ask if everything is settled."
Mom seems to have returned to her motherly appearance.
"Tomorrow around eleven o'clock should be about the time I arrive. After I arrive, should I go directly to the hospital or to Aunt's house?"
I asked Mom again in this roundabout way. I don't know when it started, but I no longer feel comfortable asking Mom to do anything for me. Besides owing and being grateful, I don't dare to make any requests anymore.
My existence has caused a debt that affects my mom's career development, and she no longer has a personal life.
I am grateful that despite my epilepsy, my mom still cares for me with great caution.
Others can never understand my emotions, always believing that everything is just the way it should be.
And I, no longer argue.
"How could I not know your little thoughts? I just wanted to know if you could see Mom when you got off the plane. Your dad and I are already on our way to W City. We'll stay at a hotel near the airport tonight and come pick you up tomorrow morning. As soon as you get off the plane, you'll be able to see Mom."
Mother is always mother, and she always understands her own daughter's thoughts.
"Mom loves me the most, and Mom understands me the most."
Being exposed by mom, it is somewhat embarrassing.
"I'm going to sleep now, I'm afraid I'll miss my flight tomorrow."
"At this moment, it's half past nine at night, and the sleep cells are fully awakened."
"For my mom who is in Xinjiang with a two-hour time difference, she completely cannot understand."
"Have you had any episodes lately?"
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"You're so tired already at 9:30, did you have another episode?"
At this moment, my mother, like a three-year-old child, asked me a hundred thousand whys.
"Mom, we're in Shanghai now. I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and have been busy. You forgot about the two-hour time difference."
I started using a soothing tone, trying to calm down my mom's extremely panicky mood.
"That's good, that's good. Come back soon and let Mom hold you tomorrow. Mom misses you."
With a coquettish tone, Mom hung up the phone.
In this moment, I found for the first time how much my mother needs me by her side.
In this moment, I started to think that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to go back to Xinjiang instead of staying in Shanghai after graduation, because being there to accompany my family might be the most important thing.
Maybe, I will have the chance to meet that unknown him again and experience countless unknown possibilities.
Give up the high income in Shanghai and go back to Xinjiang.
Work diligently and live a plain life, accompany my family, have love in my heart, maybe this is the most authentic appearance in a lifetime.
That night, I slept alone in a strange hotel, with a dim light on, and surprisingly, I was no longer afraid.
The little girl who used to be afraid of staying alone in a hotel and going to unfamiliar places disappeared that night.
Perhaps only through experiencing major events in life can one become strong.
Behind every powerful individual that others envy, there may be unimaginable pain and loneliness.
5:10 in the early morning...
"Hello, customer. It's almost time for your airport transfer. Now it's your wake-up call service. Please gather in the hotel lobby in 20 minutes."
Hearing such a wake-up service, I instantly snapped awake and quickly washed up, reaching the lobby on the first floor within ten minutes.
At this time, the hotel had thoughtfully prepared breakfast for us customers rushing to catch a flight.
Arrive at the airport, check in luggage, and change boarding pass. Standing on the conveyor belt at the airport, observing everything around.
The bustling restaurants, people from various countries, high-end luxury stores, and the gloomy air outside the window instantly make me let go of my attachments.
No longer yearn for life in big cities.
No longer aspire to a monthly salary of 50,000.
No longer hope for a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle.
In this moment, all I want is to return to my mother's side and give her gentle companionship.
In this moment, I just want to go back to the city where I found love, eagerly anticipating the chance to meet you again.
Five hours later...
When I finally retrieve my luggage and make my way out of the terminal, I spot my mom and dad in the crowd first thing. This scene, both unfamiliar and familiar, presents itself before me, leaving me a little overwhelmed.
Airports, train stations, passing strangers, loved ones picking up and dropping off, the longing in their eyes, the visible happiness upon meeting, they have all made me envious time and time again. And now, finally experiencing it myself, I don't know how to face it.
I'm almost 20 years old, and it's my first time experiencing this.
"Is it tiring to take a flight and wake up so early to catch the plane?"
To my surprise, it was my dad who first spoke up and took my luggage.
"It's alright, it's alright, you guys all came to pick me up. I'm still trying to adapt, it's a bit embarrassing, sorry for the trouble I caused you."
At this moment, I can feel the temperature of my face rising, answering with embarrassment.
"Are you still embarrassed? Aren't we your biological parents? How bad could we have treated our little baby at home?"
Mom, feeling a bit embarrassed, hugged my emaciated body.
"No, no, you have been very good to me, it's just that I have been causing trouble for you lately and it makes me feel a bit embarrassed."
Hugging my mom, who is still thin as a rake, my heart is filled with pain and guilt.
Dad pulled the suitcase ahead, and Mom and I walked hand in hand behind, talking and laughing about the life of Shanghai people, discussing the tasks to be done after returning to school. Seeing the proud expression on Mom's face, this harmonious scene of the three of us seemed simple, but it took me 20 years to wait for it.
"We'll put our luggage at your aunt's house in a while, have lunch together, and then go to the hospital. The doctor just called and there's a bed available for us, so we can start with the preoperative examination."
Mom told me seriously.
"Are you exhausted? You've been on the plane for so long, waking up at five o'clock in the morning."
When I arrived at the entrance of Aunt's neighborhood, Uncle and Aunt were already waiting for me at the entrance of the roasted donkey meat pancake shop. Needless to say, Aunt knows my taste the best. I ate until I was full.
After dinner...
Aunt brought the suitcase back home, dad returned to K city to continue his busy schedule, uncle went to negotiate a contract, and my mom and I hurried to the hospital.
However, on this day, I did not meet you, the unnamed person, who made my heart skip a beat again.
Arrived at the doctor's office, where the doctor informed us of a series of preoperative examinations that need to be done and asked a very cute nurse to guide us to the ward.
Bed 52.
The empty bed is being properly prepared, with the bedsheet, duvet cover, and pillowcase being changed.
In the early stages, the patient, a Uighur girl, was as thin as a toothpick, while I myself could be described as thin as a wire.
After tidying up the hospital bed, we placed all our personal belongings on the bedside cabinet and started the process of making diagnoses and conducting examinations.
With more than ten types of checklists in hand, it makes people shudder.
This means that I am destined to go into the cramped space again, into the large cold machine, listening to the clacking sound, sweating all over, and having difficulty breathing...