Ch63 – Ruan Yu
“His condition has already worsened. We don’t have any other option but to perform surgery.”
When Ruan Tang heard Ruan Yu’s named mentioned, he rushed towards the direction of the voice. He saw a doctor in a white uniform and several medical staff wearing light green uniforms gathered at the door of a ward. They seemed quite anxious and angry.
“We can’t, I still can’t get in touch with Ruan Yu’s mother!” One of the people wearing a light green uniform couldn’t help but curse. “Is he really her son? I’ve never met a mother like her!”
The attending doctor in while let out a sigh. “Forget it, we’ll perform emergency treatment first. I’ll pay for it and have her reimburse me later.”
These people quickly came to a decision and headed towards the room. Ruan Tang hurriedly ran over and yelled out to the doctor.
“Doctor! I am Ruan Yu’s older brother. What is his situation now?”
The door to the ward had been pushed open, and the child lying on the bed could be seen. Like the photos posted on Wei Zhuo’s Weibo, he looked very similar to Ruan Tang, except more fragile and thinner, almost only skin and bones. He was covered entirely in bandages and his cheeks were deep sunken. He should be 12 years old, but was still so small. He was no bigger than children who were aged seven or eight.
A lot of apparatus to measure his condition were at his bedside. The indicators were all surprisingly low and extremely unstable. Some would even fall below the bare minimum.
The situation was critical, and they couldn’t stay and talk that moment. The doctor went into firefighting mode and immediately signaled the person behind him to bring out the stretcher. “Quick! Transport the patient to the emergency room!”
Ruan Yu had completely lost consciousness. Only his brow were still wrinkled tightly, making everyone feel all the more distressed.
Several nurses moved softly and quietly and transferred Ruan Yu onto the stretcher and then quickly ran towards the emergency room. Ruan Tang followed behind them, burning with impatience. He looked on helplessly as the door to the emergency room was closed and the red light was turned on. He couldn’t help but hit the wall with his fist. Even the rim of his eyes turned red.
“If... if anything happens to Xiao Yu...”
He Yun Chen took his hand and wrapped it with his own. He hugged Ruan Tang and patted his back lightly. “It’s alright. Everything will be alright.”
With his placation, Ruan Tang’s emotions gradually calmed down. He looked at the red light outside the operating room and took a deep breath. He said, “If anything happens to Xiao Yu, I will never ever let Cai Xin go.”
“And I will be there with you.”
Silence descended between the two. Only that Ruan Tang’s hand was still tightly held, enabling Ruan Tang to take some comfort and strength from it.
Time passed and when Raun Tang almost couldn’t bear the wait any longer, the red light went out with a pop. The doctor then came out, took off his mask, and frowned as he looked at Ruan Tang.
“You said you’re Ruan Yu’s brother?” He scrutinized Ruan Tang closely. After all, the 19th planet was too remote, the economy and consumption level weren’t very developed. Many people couldn’t afford expensive light brains, the oldest communicators were still being used and news was relatively hard to come by. So, they were still currently unaware of what was happening on the Star network.
“Yes, I am.” He promptly handed over the certificate he had just obtained.
Dr. Tang frowned and carefully looked over the certificate to confirm that everything was correct before he snorted with a cold expression.
“Hmph! So, he’s actually his brother. He hasn’t even come to visit for so many years and I don’t know any brother who’s so cheap.” A female nurse couldn’t help but whisper.
Although the female nurse kept her voice low, she was standing close to Ruan Tang so naturally, he still heard her. But he didn’t have time to explain himself. He was more concerned about Ruan Yu’s situation.
“Doctor, how is my brother now? Can I see him?”
The doctor said coldly, “Come with me.”
.
Ruan Tang hurriedly followed the doctor into the emergency room and changed into the sterile clothes before he reached the operating table. However, the emergency room can only be visited by relatives, so He Yun Chen and Wang Kun could only stay outside.
Ruan Yu looked so miserable with his body all black and blue and covered in sutures. Ruan Tang’s nose suddenly felt sour, and with a hoarse voice, he asked, “Doctor, my brother, how is he doing now?”
“Xiao Yu’s condition is really bad. He has a rare genetic disease and his body is very fragile. The gravity and magnetic field of this planet is very unsuitable for him. Even if he just lies in the medical cabin all day, his body will still be oppressed by the gravity. Let alone how he’s only living in the general ward where there is no protection at all.”
Ruan Yu had lived here for nearly ten years. He has lived here since he was two or three years old. The doctors in the hospital practically watched him grow up. Dr. Tang, as his attending physician, had a deeper concern for him. As a result, he couldn’t help it that his tone carried a bit of anger. “I told Ms. Cai many times before. Please ask her to transfer Ruan Yu to a place more suitable for him to live and recuperate. But she never listens! When his condition first appeared, she was still willing to pay for his treatment and it finally allowed him to leave his sickbed, but in the past few years she has paid little attention to her child. Now the money in the child’s medical account is only enough to buy nutrient solutions just to sustain his life. Now, you see that the child is getting weaker and weaker. He won’t last long if he goes on like this!”
“Since you’re not willing to take responsibility then don’t have children in the first place!”
Hearing these words, Ruan Tang felt a sense of pain in his heart. A part of it was his own sympathy for this child and part of it was the remaining consciousness of the original owner.
“Doctor, what must be done now? Can my brother still be saved?”
“Now, the first thing we need to do is to transfer him to the gravity-free ward. His body is too weak, and those fractures must be treated. After his body recovers, it is best to take him to a planet more suitable for his rehabilitation.” Dr. Tang paused again. “But the cost of a gravity-free ward is very high...”
“It doesn’t matter how expensive it is. I’ll pay for it!” he said in a hurry.
Seeing that the young man in front of him was really concerned about this child, Dr. Tang couldn’t help but say, “No matter what you were doing before, you should be good to your brother from now on... He misses you very much.”
During Ruan Yu’s few lucid moments, he would mention his brother the most — how good his brother looks, how gentle he is, how he would take him out to play before. Every time he mentioned his brother, his eyes would shine with a sweet light. It was just that everything he mentioned was from when he was very young. At that time, they all thought that Ruan Yu’s brother had abandoned him just like his mother did. They never thought the day would come when they would see him in the flesh.
Ruan Tang immediately promised, “I will!”
“As for your mother, although this isn’t for me to say, I think it is best not to give her custody of Xiao Yu.” Dr. Tang snorted. “This child has lived in our hospital for several years. If she did her duty as a mother, she should have taken the child away, instead of throwing the child in the hospital and not paying attention to him! If she had taken Ruan Yu somewhere else, his condition wouldn’t have deteriorated to its present state.”
“What do you mean? My brother can get better if he leaves here?” Ruan Tang asked incredulously.
“Yes, if Ruan Yu were born in some place like the capital, even a child with a slightly weaker body, so long as the parents pay attention to prevent him from being bumped into or knocked about, there wouldn’t be any major issues. He wouldn’t have ended up close to death like this.”
The gravity environment here was inherently unsuitable. Coupled with the backwards medical conditions and the lack of timely treatment, Ruan Yu’s physical condition had worsened over time until it had reached to this point!
Upon hearing this, he immediately said: “Doctor, please help me with the transfer procedure. I will transfer my brother to a hospital in the capital!”
“Not yet, his current physical condition is too weak. He still needs to be treated for a period of time in a gravity-free ward.” Dr. Tang shook his head. “When his wounds have healed, then, he could undergo the long distance transfer.”
He nodded, “Well then... Where do I pay? I will pay for his treatment now.” Upon hearing this, Dr. Tang immediately shouted loudly, “Ok, Xiao Yang!”
“Yes!” Immediately, a female nurse pushed the door open and walked in. “Dr. Tang, were you calling me?”
“Take this gentleman downstairs to pay the bill. Get Xiao Fang and Xiao Li to come over and help me transfer the child to the gravity-free ward!”
“Yes! Come on with me, sir!” The female nurse replied; her eyes shone brightly and she led Ruan Tang downstairs. The other two male nurses outside the door came in and helped Dr. Tang prepare to transfer Ruan Yu.
He Yun Chen went downstairs with him, and Wang Kun continued to stay at the door of the ward.
The cost of using a gravity-free ward was really expensive. It costs 3,000 GM coins a day, not to mention the nutritional and treatment costs and those other miscellaneous fees.
“First pay a week’s fee, plus the deposit. A total of 50,000 GM coins. Any leftover money will be returned to you when you leave the hospital.”
Ruan Tang said nothing and simply opened the light brain to transfer the money.
The female nurse was obviously relieved. Seeing that he looked quite amiable, she couldn’t help but grumble, “You’re Ruan Yu’s brother? Why didn’t you come earlier?”
“I...”Ruan Tang gave a bitter smile. He didn’t know how to explain it.
“He had an accident before, and he was in a coma for five years. He was just discharged from the hospital.” He didn’t expect the He Yun Chen would quickly answer for him instead.
The female nurse was slightly dumbfounded. She probably couldn’t believe how unlucky these two brothers were. But looking at Ruan Tang’s manner, he was completely different from Cai Xin and her tone softened. “Please take good care of Ruan Yu from now on. He really is a good kid.”
“I will...” Ruan Tang replied solemnly.
The female nurse took them directly to the gravity-free ward on the third floor. Ruan Yu had already been transferred and Dr. Tang and Wang Kun were standing outside the ward waiting for them. It looked like the ICU ward in the past. The whole ward was separated and isolated. The gravity in this ward was adjusted to the lowest level so that Ruan Yu didn’t even need to lie in the medical cabin, but could lie directly on a soft bed.
“Look, his breathing’s more stable now.” Dr. Tang said, pointing to Ruan Yu in the ward.
Ruan Tang saw his small chest slightly undulating, his expression looked a lot less pained. Ruan Tang couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved.
“Dr. Tang, what about the follow up treatment?”
“He is now in a gravity-free ward. Without the pressure of gravity, he drank the medicine that I gave him. His fractured bones will soon heal. When his body returns to the level where he can move by himself, he can be discharged from the hospital. At that time, you should send him to a planet with a weaker gravity as soon as possible, lest his body sustain more injuries. His body will need to recuperate for a long time.” Having said that, Dr. Tang’s face finally revealed a little smile, “He will wake up soon, you can stay with him here.”
“Okay.” Ruan Tang nodded, watching the doctor go out through the door, only to turn his eyes back to Ruan Yu.
He reached out and gently rubbed Ruan Yu’s head. The child was thin and tender, and he looked very lovable. Ruan Tang sighed and whispered, “Wake up soon.”
The sunlight outside the window was beautiful. The sun had just re-emerged from the dark clouds and the light was bright but not burning. The whole ward was made warm and sparkling.
Ruan Yu’s eyelids were almost made transparent by the sunlight. You could see the shallow lavender veins on his eyelids. Those naturally long, thick eyelashes tremble slightly, then slowly open to reveal the glittering brown eyes underneath.
Although he hasn’t seen the other for many years, upon catching sight of Ruan Tang, a pair of small, adorable dimples appeared on his face, and his moist eyes were filled with glistening tears.
“Bro-, brother...”
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