Chapter 198: Chapter 200: The Grand Destiny

“Thank you, thank you…” Mr. Chen clenched the doctor’s hand, repeatedly expressing his gratitude while his other hand covered his face. He was unmistakably crying. And at this moment, no one could say that his tears were a sign of weakness.

Both Mrs. Chen and Chen Lidong were alright, both recovering well. They were only unconscious because they had inhaled too much coal gas. However, the doctor said there was no reason to worry, and they would naturally wake up when the time was right.

Tang Yuxin, not wanting to leave Mr. Chen all by himself, went to the public telephone outside the doctor’s office and called the store in their village.

The village only had two stores with telephones. One of them was not far from her home. It was right next to their house, so it wasn’t difficult to run over to call someone.

With Sisi’s little hand in hers, Tang Yuxin dialed Tang Zhinian to summarize the situation of the Chen Family.

Upon hearing the news, Tang Zhinian was taken aback. He thought to himself how lucky they were that Tang Yuxin and Sisi had been invited to clean their house. Had they not been there, the mother and son of the Chen family might not have made it.

The thought of that possibility terrified him, let alone the father who was directly involved, Mr. Chen.

He immediately put down the phone and summoned both Tang Zhijun and Zhang Xiangcao to go and see what was the situation.

They arrived at the county hospital within half an hour on their electric tricycle. Both Mrs. Chen and her son were still there.

“Are they alright?” Tang Zhinian rushed to ask the moment he arrived.

“The doctor said they’re fine. We managed to get them here in time. They’ll be okay once they wake up.” Mr. Chen was trying his best to put on a smile. Even though it was uglier than a cry, it was the only thing he could give.

“Alright, don’t be like this,”

Tang Zhinian patted Mr. Chen’s shoulder. “As long as they’re fine, that’s what matters. You are the head of the family; you can’t collapse. I’ve brought some food from home; you should eat something first. Everything else can wait. If the doctor said they’re going to be fine, then they will be just fine; they just need some time to recover properly.”

“I can’t eat,” Mr. Chen sighed. With his wife and child in this condition and still unconscious, how could he muster the strength to eat?

Tang Zhinian placed the food in front of Mr. Chen.

Even if you can’t eat, you must, or else how will you take care of the two of them?

Mr. Chen, staring at the big bowl in front of him with eyes as red as a rabbit’s. After some thought, he picked up the chopsticks and slowly began to feed himself, bite after bite. Yes, Tang Zhinian was right, if he didn’t eat, who’d take care of the two of them?

As for their family’s current situation, well, the less said, the better.

It’s a good thing they’re going to be okay. Otherwise, he thought, as he’d rather die. If the whole family were to perish together, there would be no leftover for him in this wretched world anymore.

Sisi was quietly eating her rice. Still, she kept glancing at Chen Lidong lying unconscious on the hospital bed. As she sucked on her nose, Sisi stopped eating and put down her chopsticks.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Zhang Xiangcao asked her daughter. Was there something wrong with food? Sisi wasn’t picky. Possibly because of the hard times she had been through as a child, Sisi ate anything and everything.

It was strange that she didn’t want to eat today, especially after not having eaten for almost a day. Didn’t she feel hungry?

“Mom, Sisi wants to save the food for brother,” Sisi tearfully expressed her thoughts, looking thoroughly heartbroken.

Children were free to break down in tears when they were upset, but adults just couldn’t.

Sisi tried to stifle her sobs, realising for the first time how close death could be. Death was still a distant concept to her. Yet it had already claimed the life of someone she knew and held dear.

Tang Yuxin had grown more or less accustomed to life and death in the hospital. Every day someone was born, and every day someone died. She had saved many people, but even more had passed away in her care. That was the inevitability of life, sooner or later, life would end in death.

Death itself was not the hardest part; the permanent scar it leaves on the hearts of those still living was.

As she saw Mr. Chen in his current state, she was reminded of the time she had died in her past life. Tang Zhinian had been the one crying for her, a grown man sobbing loudly as he hugged himself in the corner.

Yes, in this world, Tang Zhinian was the only one who would shed tears for her. If there was ever another man who would cry for her, she would marry him.

The one thing she wanted to do in this life was to ensure that her father wouldn’t have to cry over her, his unfilial daughter. She would grow up fast, become the pillar of their home, their pride, and their greatest comfort.

After a while, the Xu family also arrived. Xu Miaomiao heard about the incident and was pale with fright. She looked like a ghost herself.

“Yuxin, Yuxin, they’re okay, right?”

Xu Miaomiao was older, and she understood what a difference life and death could make. She always thought that as long as they were alive, death would never come. But death had come so close to them.

“They’re ok, they’re still alive,” Tang Yuxin forced a smile into her voice. “Don’t worry. They’re tough people, they’re not going anywhere.”

Upon hearing these words, Xu Miaomiao burst into uncontrollable sobs, clutching onto Tang Yuxin. “You can’t imagine how terrified I was. I was really afraid something would happen to Xu Lidong. We had promised to compete this semester. If something happened to him, what would I do?”

Childhood sweethearts. It was a precious and rare kind of relationship. Tang Yuxin thought. It’s a shame that she hadn’t had such a childhood playmate. For better or for worse, she was meant to lead a lonely student life – be it in this life or her previous one.

Tang Yuxin gently stroked Xu Sisi’s hair. For a moment, she felt as if her soul were wandering, pondering one of the most burdensome questions of her young life. Who was the only person who would cry for her death? Only her white-haired father.

That’s why she had to live.

And so did Chen Lidong.

All for the sake of his father, who loved him more than his own life and was willing to give up everything for him, Mr. Chen.

The Chen family had suffered such a tragedy amid the festive season. It was poignant and regrettable. Surprisingly, not a single relative had visited Mrs. Chen in the hospital. The Chen family had its fair share of vexing problems.

After all, every family indeed had its difficulties.

Mr. Chen was the eldest. There was a saying among ordinary people, “The emperor loved his heir, but the common people pampered the youngest.” It seemed to imply that as the eldest, one was obligated to take care of his grown-up brother. When his brother got married, the eldest bore the cost. When his brother had a child, the eldest took care of them. However, the eldest was a person too, he had his own family to feed and support.