Mei Yiqiu lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. A doctor in a white coat came to check on her, followed by several junior interns.
The doctor called softly, "Professor, Professor..."
The young people behind them craned their necks to watch curiously. They knew that this was the famous Professor Mei. In today's world, where academic research is becoming increasingly specialized and top scholars in the same discipline cannot understand each other's papers, Professor Mei is hailed as the last all-around genius.
Generally, important figures like these stay in VIP wards, cared for by specialized expert doctors and nurses. Doctors don't bring interns during ward rounds. These individuals were handpicked by the hospital; each one is exceptionally talented and considered a key talent for the hospital's development. This visit was specifically to let them experience the hospital's capabilities.
This is a truly important person!
These days, who doesn't play Dream Guide, and who doesn't own a Space Box?
Now, the inventor of the Space Box, the founder of DreamNet, and the actual mastermind of the Third Space, lies right in front of them. They can clearly see his heartbeat and breathing on the instruments.
Mei Yiqiu didn't respond, not even blinking, just staring blankly at the ceiling. His cheeks were thin, with only a layer of wrinkled skin covering his cheekbones, his eye sockets were sunken, but the whites of his eyes bulged outwards, as if he was staring intently at the world.
The doctor glanced at the vital signs monitor next to him, which showed that the patient's breathing and heartbeat were very weak, but still relatively stable. He then took the tablet from the nurse, checked the data recorded on it, and began to explain the case to the students behind him.
The young interns pretended to listen attentively, but their attention couldn't be easily taken off the old man in the bed, and they would steal glances at him every now and then.
The doctor spoke quickly, and after finishing, he bowed his head and softly called out, "Professor, Professor Mei..."
Mei Yiqiu finally moved, glancing at the door of the spacious single-patient ward before quickly turning back to stare blankly at the ceiling.
This sudden action proved he wasn't dead, but it startled the young interns. Everyone thought they were hallucinating, yet they didn't know whether they should ask him.
They all looked towards the door, which was tightly shut, not even a breath of wind could get in.
The doctor made a final effort and asked, "Professor, is there anything you'd like to say? Is there anything you need? Please let me know."
The young people looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never heard a doctor and a patient say such things before. It usually indicated a critical condition, but the old man's condition was clearly stable. His lung infection was improving, and he had stopped coughing in the past few days. No other problems had been found in him.
Mei Yiqiu stretched out her withered hand, with an IV drip attached to the back of her hand. Yellow liquid flowed from the IV tube, like the sands of time, from the IV bag into the old man's veins.
"Do not intubate."
He struggled to remove the breathing mask from his face, his lips moving as he pleaded to have his last vestige of dignity preserved.
"I know, Professor Xiao Mei already gave the instructions." The doctor agreed first, then comforted him, "You're out of danger and will recover soon. The country needs you, science needs you, and humanity needs you!"
People saw the professor's wrinkled face twitch, as if he were smiling, but then again, he wasn't.
After the doctor left, only the young nurse remained in the ward.
The nurse skillfully changed the professor's IV drip and put his breathing mask back on. As she put the mask on, she saw the professor glance at her with a lively look in his eyes, his gaze seemingly containing some profound meaning.
The nurse's hand, which was holding the mask, froze in mid-air. "Professor," she asked, "What are you trying to say?"
"Help me..." the professor whispered weakly, "... pass on a message for me."
What message?
"No matter what happens to me, I must persevere. Destruction is salvation, death is rebirth..."
The nurse didn't quite understand, but she still tried her best to write it down, and then asked, "Who? Who do you want me to deliver this message to?"
At that moment, the door opened silently.
The door to the special care ward was of excellent quality; it made almost no sound when opening and closing. The nurse didn't hear it; she was still waiting for an answer to fulfill the mission assigned to her by the hospital leaders—to take good care of the elderly man in front of her and try her best to meet all his wishes.
Mei Yiqiu glanced towards the door, sighed, and said, "No need, she's here."
The nurse turned around and saw a beautiful woman standing in the doorway, smiling politely at them.
"Ah, Professor Xiao Mei is here!" That's how the nurse addressed Mei Ziqing.
"Thank you for your hard work, Nurse Xiao Zhou." Mei Ziqing bowed slightly, maintaining a pleasant and friendly demeanor throughout. "How is the professor?"
"Everything's fine," the nurse said. " Director Zhong just left, and the professor is doing even better than yesterday. He just asked me to give you a message, and then you arrived."
"Really? What message?" Mei Ziqing asked.
Just as the nurse was about to speak, Mei Yiqiu began to cough violently, and the sound of phlegm churning and rolling in his lungs could be heard.
The nurse quickly placed the breathing mask over Mei Yiqiu's mouth and nose, saying apologetically, "Oh dear, I was so busy talking that I almost forgot..."
Mei Yiqiu took a few deep breaths, and her heaving chest gradually calmed down.
Feeling guilty, the nurse tucked the professor in and said softly, "Professor, is there anything else I can do for you? If not, I'll leave now. You and Professor Xiao Mei can talk for a bit."
The professor's throat was still phlegmy, making a gurgling sound, and he mumbled indistinctly through his breathing mask, "Fish... fish..." and "Tushu."
"Fish?" The nurse looked at him in confusion, then suddenly saw a meaningful glint in the professor's eyes, but it was fleeting, and he quickly returned to his usual blank expression.
"Do you want to eat fish?" She turned to look at Mei Ziqing, her eyes pleading.
Mei Ziqing smiled and said, "The professor loves fish the most. Nurse Xiao Zhou, you can go ahead and do your work. I'll leave this to you. I'll call you if I need anything."
The nurse breathed a sigh of relief, tidied the professor's bed, picked up her tools and the tablet for recording his condition, and left.
Mei Ziqing went straight to the professor's bedside, bent down, looked at the professor's face with pity, and blocked the professor's view of the ceiling.
"Professor, you can tell me if you want to eat fish. She's a nurse; buying groceries and cooking are her family's responsibility, not hers. Do you really want to eat fish?"
Mei Yiqiu difficulty.
"Okay, I'll ask the doctor later. If the doctor agrees, I'll go buy fish and cook it for you," Mei Ziqing said.
Mei Yiqiu's blank eyes finally moved as if they were alive. He reached out one hand to remove his mask, while his other hand, connected to the IV line, was raised high towards Mei Ziqing's face.
Mei Ziqing did not flinch, letting the dry, rough, cold hand, like a carbonized saxaul wood stalk lying in the desert at night, touch her cheek and gently caress it.
"I don't want to be intubated. Let me leave peacefully," the professor said.
Mei Ziqing and Tu Shu sat on the edge of the bed, holding the professor's wrists with both hands, carefully supporting the IV tube from which a little red blood had flowed back. They placed the professor's withered fingers to their lips and whispered:
"I know, I won't let you suffer."
Mei Yiqiu smiled, and this time it was a genuine smile.
"Aren't you going to comfort me a little? Like that doctor did earlier."
"You are no ordinary person; I will not treat you like an ordinary person, and I would never want to deceive you."
"But you've been lying to me for over a decade."