Poverty Alleviation Hospital.
Tang Ying, still unconscious, was rushed into the emergency room. The two trainee teachers stood anxiously in the corridor, waiting.
Xiao Lin frowned deeply, his bloodstained hands clasped together.
Unable to contain his anxiety, he said,
"She's been in and out of the hospital far too often lately. I think Principal Tang's body really needs time to recover properly!"
"She just loves keeping busy and worrying about everything. No one can talk her out of it!"
Leaning against the hospital wall, Xiao Ai spoke as if she did not care.
Only she knew that her legs had gone weak with fright.
On the way here, blood had kept flowing from Tang Ying's mouth even while she was unconscious. Xiao Ai had never seen anything so horrifying in her life.
What did the principal mean to this school and its thousands of children?
She was their hope, their pillar!
If she fell now, Xiao Ai did not know who else could shoulder such a burden and step up.
The town had only just begun to improve, and the school renovation project had finally been put on the agenda. Yet Principal Tang, who had worked tirelessly for more than a decade, had collapsed.
At that thought, Xiao Ai turned away, tears spilling helplessly from her eyes.
After a long while,
As the two stood in silence, the light above the emergency room suddenly dimmed!
A doctor walked out, his expression grave as he said,
"You should know about the patient's condition, right? It was already terminal, and with the overwork and sudden emotional shock, she has now fallen into a deep coma!"
"A deep coma!? Can she still wake up?"
Xiao Lin's expression changed as he asked.
Before he could finish, Xiao Ai hurried forward and cut him off.
"Wait!"
"What did you just say? What terminal stage!?"
Xiao Ai asked, her face filled with alarm and disbelief.
Seeing the two of them looking utterly stunned, the doctor frowned and asked in return,
"She has terminal cancer. Don't you know that?"
As soon as the words fell,
Both of them stood frozen in shock!
Drip!
Xiao Ai's tears instantly fell out of control, striking the hospital corridor floor with an especially heavy sound.
Xiao Lin's eyes reddened, his hands trembling slightly.
Only then did the doctor understand that the patient had been hiding her condition all along!
Xiao Ai wiped away her tears and continued asking through them,
"Then how is she now? Can she still wake up?"
"Well..."
The doctor hesitated, but still told them the truth.
"Given the patient's condition, there is a high chance she will never wake up after falling into such a severe coma. Our recommendation is to contact her family and friends in advance."
Inside the emergency room.
Tang Ying lay quietly on the hospital bed, peaceful and still, her eyes gently closed as though she had drifted into a dream.
The only sounds in the entire emergency room were the medical equipment running and her faint breathing.
She was exhausted. It had been a long time since she had slept like this.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the first day she had arrived in the town eighteen years ago seemed to appear in her mind.
At the time, the loss of her beloved had left her heartbroken. She had resolved to come to this remote place and forget the pain of parting. But then she saw the innocent faces of poor mountain children, their eyes full of yearning for knowledge. Her instinct to love made her put down roots here.
Life here was far harder than she had imagined. Every penny had to be split in two, and sometimes a single steamed bun was all she had to eat for an entire day. There was not a single proper school for miles around. The children had not even seen what books looked like, much less learned to read. The harsh conditions discouraged many volunteer teachers, but she had resolutely stayed.
To improve the children's living and learning conditions, she lived frugally, cutting her daily expenses again and again. Every penny she saved went to her students.
Over time, she had donated hundreds of thousands of yuan.
What made her proudest was that not one of her students had dropped out because of poverty.
Looking back now, even she had never expected that an impulsive decision would make her remain here for a full eighteen years!
In the twelve years since the school was founded, more than a thousand children from the mountains had entered university from here and completed their studies, contributing in all walks of life. While the school's achievements kept coming, her own health had deteriorated day by day. She had developed more than ten illnesses. She truly was useless. To keep her students from worrying, she had always hidden her condition.
This life had seemed a little too hard, but she had never regretted it!
If she had another chance, she would still be willing to dedicate her life to education and lead more mountain children into the outside world!
Her only regret might have been not seeing her sister one last time.
A tear slowly flowed from her eye, sliding down her weathered cheek.
At the hospital.
News that Tang Ying had fallen into a severe coma and could face mortal danger at any moment still spread.
The two trainee teachers had no idea what they should do next.
They contacted every one of Principal Tang's relatives and friends, but there was no family for Principal Tang!
"Why haven't you contacted the patient's immediate family?"
The doctor asked the two of them.
Xiao Ai's eyes reddened, but she said nothing.
Xiao Lin slowly explained Principal Tang's situation.
"Principal Tang originally had an older sister, but sadly, she passed away last year."
When Tang Ying's sister had been critically ill, she had wanted to see the younger sister she had not met in nearly twenty years. She had specially sent over some money. But at the time, a sick student could not afford hospitalization fees, so Principal Tang paid for the child's treatment. No one had expected that when Principal Tang finally returned, all that awaited her was her sister's funeral.
Her only family in this world had left in such a hurry.
"So what you mean is, this patient has no family, no home?"
The doctor was deeply surprised as he asked this cruel question.
His words echoed through the hospital corridor, sounding especially cold.
Just then, an aged voice suddenly rang out.
"Who says she doesn't? I am Principal Tang's family!"
The three of them hurriedly looked over and saw an elderly figure trembling at the stairwell entrance.
He had spoken those words.
"Grandpa Bai, why are you here!?"
The two trainee teachers were surprised to see the old man.
Soon, a small figure appeared at the corridor entrance as well. It was Bai Xiaonian.
She walked to her grandfather's side, opened her bright, watery eyes wide, and said earnestly to the doctor,
"And me! I'm Principal Tang's family too!"
Faced with this sudden scene, tears began to shimmer in Xiao Lin and Xiao Ai's eyes.
Then, one figure after another emerged from the stairwell.
Most of them were elderly people and children. They were all from Huayi Town.
Elder Bai, who stood at the front, stepped forward two paces. His hoarse voice trembled slightly as he said,
"Eighteen years ago, Principal Tang chose to put down roots here for the children of Huayi Town!"
"When the children had no money for school, she paid out of her own pocket and raised funds. Even if she had to knock on every door and beg while enduring people's scorn, she still wanted the children to have a chance to attend school! We people of Huayi Town are not cold stones! We are flesh and blood too!"
"That's right. We have kept every bit of the help the principal has given us over the years in our hearts. We have never dared forget it, not for a moment!"
Someone behind him said as they wiped away tears.
Crying began to spread as well. Everyone's feelings for Principal Tang could no longer be described by any simple relationship.
Elder Bai choked up repeatedly too. His trembling hand pulled a stack of wrinkled bills from his waist. He struggled forward and stuffed the money into Xiao Ai and Xiao Lin's hands.
"Eighteen years ago, Principal Tang put down roots here for Huayi Town.
Eighteen years later, her family in Huayi Town must never let her down!
If we are talking about family, then every person in Huayi Town is Principal Tang's family!
Huayi Town is Principal Tang's home!
If she leaves us here, then we will... see her off!"
The old man's hoarse voice echoed throughout the entire corridor.
Children's words were the most sincere.
An old man's tears were the most moving.
Even the doctor, who had seen countless partings in life and death, could not stop his tears at this moment.
I hope everyone can vote and show your support!
Keep it up!
We will definitely advance in the trial PK!
Let's work hard together!
Fight our way out!
Thank you to all the generous readers for your monthly tickets, tips, and recommendation votes!
Thank you, reader Zhang Bancheng, for the monthly ticket!
Thank you, reader <<<TA—Time Flows Like Water, for the monthly ticket!