By the time they arrived at the hospital, the team of specialists Li Yao had arranged had already arrived and was giving Aunt Lin a comprehensive examination.
Although this was a small county town, its medical standards were not particularly poor. Its equipment was fairly advanced, which made specialist consultations easier. Some difficult tests would require samples to be taken back to the provincial capital for testing, and the reports would be mailed to Li Yao once they were ready.
Uncle Lin had already accepted fate's unfair arrangements.
But Li Yao's grand display rekindled his hope.
Could there be a way?... Maybe? The specialist consultation would last several days, and the detailed examination report would take a few more days. During the wait, Li Yao said to Uncle and Aunt Lin, "Even if it's terminal, we can't bow our heads and admit defeat. Mr. Hawking lived with it for fifty-five years, didn't he?"
Aunt Lin only shook her head with a bitter smile.
That was easy to say.
But Mr. Hawking was extremely important to all humanity, so countless institutions had competed to keep him alive. What about her? She was just an ordinary person.
Even if the two children had money now, they could not afford to squander it like this. This specialist consultation... how much would it cost? She did not even dare think about it! In her eyes, it would be better not to make such a fuss and save the money for the family's life.
Unfortunately, she did not get to decide at this point.
She was a burden.
Aunt Lin looked out the window, her heart churning with certain resolute thoughts—if she were gone, her husband would have it much easier, wouldn't he? Her daughter's future would be easier too. It would be for the good of the family, so there was no need to keep struggling.
Li Yao narrowed his eyes. Only when Uncle Lin saw him out of the ward did he say, "Auntie's state of mind isn't good."
Uncle Lin nodded.
Li Yao said, "Don't give up! Believe me, there'll definitely be a way."
Uncle Lin looked at Li Yao in surprise, unable to understand where his confidence came from.
But he still nodded and promised, "It's fine. I'll definitely take good care of my wife!"
Li Yao nodded and left. When Uncle Lin returned to the ward, he was silent for a while before saying to his wife, "Don't want to keep holding on?"
Aunt Lin smiled and replied gently, "A little."
Uncle Lin pressed his lips together in pain. "You can't. Hold on a little longer, okay? Even if it's hard, wouldn't it be nice to spend a little more time with the children?" Uncle Lin grinned, but tears streamed down his cheeks. "It really is exhausting, really hard... but whose life is easy?"
Aunt Lin cried too. She held her husband's head, tears flowing as she smiled gently. "Oh, you're a man. This is so unbecoming. Fine, fine, I'll hold on a little longer. I'll spend more time with Xiaoxi, and more time with you."
"It's a promise."
"Oh, fine, it's a promise."
After leaving the hospital, Li Yao looked back at the towering hospital building behind him. Something seemed to spread through his heart, slow and cold—who in this world was not complaining through painful struggle while trudging forward with difficulty? Life was a journey of carrying burdens forward. It was very hard.
Six days later, Li Yao received Aunt Lin's detailed test report. Looking at the nearly hundred-page report gave him a headache. It described Aunt Lin's vital signs in detail and provided conclusions as well as possible treatment plans.
But Li Yao knew those treatment plans would only delay the inevitable.
At current medical standards, the degeneration and atrophy of motor neurons was a terminal illness with no cure at all.
The path to saving her life did not lie in this world.
Li Yao sent the materials to Lin Xiaowei. Once the transfer was complete, he said, "The rest is up to you."
Lin Xiaowei replied instantly, "Received!"
Li Yao said, "..."
Fuck, so when he told her to disconnect and rest, she had only gone invisible? Damn it! Was she not afraid of working herself to death? But he could not bring himself to blame her.
Putting himself in her shoes, if he had encountered something like this... he would definitely have done the same.
So the conversation ended there.
Lin Xiaowei took the materials and burned the midnight oil studying the pathology, while all Li Yao could do was wait...
A little after three in the morning five days later, his phone suddenly began vibrating!
Li Yao shot upright in bed, completely bewildered. "???"
What happened?! Once he had woken up, he saw that his phone was still vibrating nonstop... and there was actually a string of message pop-ups from Lin Xiaowei.
Lin Xiaowei: "Dog, are you there!"
Lin Xiaowei: "Fuck, come out already! What are you doing!? Jerked yourself to death???"
Lin Xiaowei: "Hey, come out!!!"
Li Yao was utterly baffled. Could she fucking look at what time it was???
He replied, "Are you insane?! It's fucking three in the morning. Did you rise from the dead?!"
Emmmmm...
Oh right, that girl had died. She really was the original risen corpse.
Lin Xiaowei: "Calling it rising from the dead isn't wrong."
At least she knew her place.
But Li Yao did not care. "...And that's your reason for waking me up? Believe it or not, I'll punch a hole through your skull!"
Lin Xiaowei: "I don't believe you. You can't beat me."
Damn it! Li Yao: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Lin Xiaowei: "Enough, let's talk business! I cracked ALS! Hahahahaha~ Isn't your daddy amazing?"
Li Yao: "Yeah, you really are amazing."
Lin Xiaowei: "Li Yao, you're getting cocky. I'll kill you!" She then casually sent a "Salted Fish Slash" meme.
Li Yao: "???"
Li Yao: "Is that how you talk to your daddy? Believe it or not, I'll block you!"
Lin Xiaowei: "Believe it or not, when I get back to Earth, I'll grind your face into the floor?"
Li Yao: "I'll give you one chance to reorganize your wording."
He attached a smiling meme.
Lin Xiaowei: "...Boss, I was wrong. Here, some tea for you, Boss."
Li Yao was delighted. He could not resist sending dozens of "Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha knife hahahahahahahahahaha" messages back. "I, Li Yao, hide a knife behind my smile!"
Lin Xiaowei could not help rolling her eyes—childish.
Then she opened her pocket notebook and wrote: On this day, at this hour and minute, Li Yao humiliated me! Once I return, I shall ravage this brat one hundred times—one hundred times!
Anyway, I'll kill you! After exchanging nonsense for a while, Li Yao felt much better. "All right, let's talk business."
Lin Xiaowei: "Mm, I discovered that ALS is a form of bodily damag—"
Li Yao: "I mean, I should be sleeping."
Lin Xiaowei: "???"
Li Yao lay back down with his phone in his arms and replied, "The country says people born in the nineties are middle-aged now. Once you reach middle age... you need to take good care of yourself. Otherwise, how can you prolong your life and live to a hundred? It's late. Go to sleep."
With that, he disconnected and went offline!
Watching Li Yao's profile picture turn gray, Lin Xiaowei fell into a profound daze.
Fuck your sister!
Get online, you bastard! Lin Xiaowei gritted her teeth, but eventually calmed herself down.
She knew Li Yao meant well.
Over the past five days, she had slept less than ten hours total. She was truly, truly exhausted...
Thank you to all the readers who support my book. Thank you for your love, and thank you as well to Chen Fudian and Limited Time Waiting for recommending it through your book lists. Especially you, Limited Time Waiting—I read your book list's introduction, and everything I wanted to say is in this chapter. Keep going.
Audrey Hepburn said: Of course I would not try to pluck the moon from the sky. I want the moon to come to me. Yes, I want you all... to come to me.
Before you continue