Chapter 16 — I'm Busy All My Life, And You're Lonely

"Thank you for still making porridge for me." Luc Kien Quan forced a smile, "Thank you for memorizing the things you need to keep in mind to advise Tu Ngang."

Tong Tuyet looked at him for a few seconds, there was no softness or mockery in her eyes. Just pale indifference.

“This is what I should do now.” She said, “Don't think too much.”

Having finished speaking, she turned and walked out the door. When the door closed, Luc's mother was angry and frustrated.

"Tieu Quan, why are you being polite to him? It should be his duty to do these things."

“Mom, don't say that.” Luc Kien Quan sighed, "She is willing to do it now because she still remembers her responsibility, not because she owes her family."

Luc's mother snorted coldly.

"You're really soft-hearted, it's holding you back. According to mom, men have to be a little tough for the family to look like a family."

Luc Kien Quan looked out the door, not responding. The lights turned off and the hospital room fell into darkness. Only a small crack in the door let light in from the hallway. Luc's mother lay on a folding chair tossing and turning, unable to sleep peacefully no matter what. Luc Kien Quan could not sleep either. His mind was filled with hundreds of questions, all fragments of the past. The year Tong Tuyet had a miscarriage, the year Tong Tuyet had to have surgery, and the night Tu Ngang had a fever. When he should have been standing side by side, he was completely absent. Absence with dignity, absence with peace of mind and comfort. Now that it was his turn to be bedridden, he felt the torment of absence. No, compared to Tong Tuyet, he is still considered lucky. At least she was still here, at least his son could still run home in time, at least he had a chance to hear unpleasant words, a chance to be cursed to wake him up. After one o'clock at night, Luc's mother finally fell asleep. Luc Kien Quan opened his eyes wide, listening to her steady snoring. In the hospital room, there was still the sound of other patients' light breathing, and the heart rate monitor beeped. All of these sounds remind him that he is no longer a Director Luc who says go is go, says drink is drink, says busy is busy anymore. In his heart, there was now a cold metal stent. That thing no one sees, but it always reminds him. He has entered another phase of life. A period where you have to pay the price for all the decisions of the past. At six o'clock the next morning, Tong Tuyet appeared on time. She brought dumplings, boiled eggs, and a box of yogurt. As soon as Luc's mother saw her, she began to criticize her again.

"What are you doing so early in the morning? Didn't you say yesterday that you won't be here until seven thirty? You don't keep your word."

Tong Tuyet is still as usual, not bothering to accept anything.

"Mom, please eat something for now. Let me clean Mr. Quan's body. The doctor told me not to shower right away after surgery."

She took out a hot towel from her bag, wringed it dry, bent down to wipe Luc Kien Quan's face and hands, and then gently wiped Luc Kien Quan's chest and back. The movements are not hasty, the hand strength is just enough, neither heavy nor light. Luc's mother stood next to her, watching and snorting.

"Fake. I've never seen you this considerate before."

Tong Tuyet's hand paused slightly. She didn't raise her head, just turned the towel over and continued wiping. Luc Kien Quan reached out and held her hand tightly.

"That's okay, it's done."

He was afraid that if she heard any more, she would really get angry. Tong Tuyet withdrew her hand. throw the towel in the basin.

"Go wipe your feet yourself. I'll go ask the doctor what's in today's medicine."

She carried the pot and walked out. Luc's mother gnawed on a vegetarian dumpling, but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't swallow it.

"Tieu Quan, have you seen it? His eyes look at me, he doesn't care about me at all. I'm so sick, he still keeps that cold face."

“Mom, she has a cold personality.” Luc Kien Quan said, "Mom, don't always think bad things."