Chapter 3 — I'm Busy All My Life, And You're Lonely

Luc Kien Quan originally intended to say no, but glanced at the stubbornness on his mother's face and swallowed what he was about to say. I understand, I can't stop her. At noon, Luc Kien Quan ordered food for delivery on his phone. While eating, Luc's mother began to babble non-stop.

"I'm in the hospital, Tong Tuyet doesn't show up, what about Tu Ngang? Have you called him yet?"

Luc Tu Ngang is their son, working as a programmer in Hangzhou.

“Not yet, it's busy over there…”

“Busy busy busy, everyone says busy!” Luc's mother put down her chopsticks, "You're his father! I'm in the hospital, wouldn't it be natural for him to take some time to visit?"

Luc Kien Quan picked up his phone and sent his son a Wechat message.

"Son, dad had a heart attack and had to be hospitalized. Can you spare some time to return home?"

Sending a message is like throwing a stone into a well. Luc Kien Quan waited for an hour, but saw no movement. He decided to call directly. The bell rang for seven or eight hours before someone picked up.

"Dad, what's wrong? I'm in a meeting."

Luc Tu Ngang lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Dad had a heart attack and had to be hospitalized. Are you free to go home?"

The other end was silent for a few seconds.

“Is it serious, Dad?”

"The doctor said it's quite severe and may require surgery."

“When will the hospital admission procedure take place?”

“Let's go do the procedure this afternoon.”

"I really can't help myself today, the project is going up, come on this weekend, dad, I'll find a way this weekend."

"Weekend? Maybe dad will have finished the surgery by then!"

“Dad, I really can't help myself, this project is too important, the part I'm in charge of…”

“Okay, okay, just keep busy with your work.”

Luc Kien Quan decisively hung up the phone. My chest started to tighten again. Luc's mother sat next to her and listened to the whole thing, her face turning black.

"That's the good son you adopted! Just like his mother! There's no human love at all!"

Luc Kien Quan did not respond. He suddenly remembered what happened eighteen years ago, when Tong Tuyet was pregnant and had a miscarriage. At that time, he was in the project department and did not return home for three months. Tong Tuyet went to the hospital alone. Alone on the operating table. Then go home alone. At that time, she must have called you, right? What exactly to say, he no longer remembers clearly. I just remember being very impatient, talking about many things on the construction site, and telling her to find a solution herself. Now that I think back, during that phone call, Tong Tuyet's voice seemed a bit hoarse. At that time he just thought she had a cold.

“Mom,” Luc Kien Quan suddenly spoke up, “In the summer of 2001, was Tong Tuyet…”

At the corner of his mouth, he swallowed the second half of the sentence.

"What does that mean?" Luc's mother stared at him.

"Nothing."

Luc Kien Quan shook his head. There are some things that if you don't know clearly, it will save you a headache. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Luc Kien Quan and his mother arrived at the hospital. Complete the hospital admission procedures, pay the deposit, and do a bunch of hospital admission tests. When everything was finished, it was four o'clock in the afternoon. Luc Kien Quan was placed in the third treatment area of the cardiovascular department, a three-person room, where he slept in a bed near the window. Two patients share a room, a man in his seventies, with his son and daughter-in-law standing by his side; a middle-aged man in his fifties, whose wife is busy running around. Only by Luc Kien Quan's side was his seventy-two year old mother running up and down. When the nurse came to take blood, she looked at Luc's mother one more.

"The family member is old, it's not convenient to stay and take care of him at night. It's best to bring in a younger person."

Luc's mother immediately said: "My bones are still healthy! Taking care of my son is no problem!" The nurse didn't say anything more, but after taking the blood, she left. Luc Kien Quan lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The sky outside the window was gray, like it was about to rain.

"Mom called Tong Tuyet and told him he had to come tonight!"

Luc's mother took out her phone.

“Mom, forget it, she has self-study class tonight.”

"What about self-study? Can't I ask for a day off? Mom is calling!"

Luc's mother dialed the number. The bell rang for a long time, no one answered the phone. Called back, still no answer.

"Do you see? Do you see?" Luc's mother was so angry that her hands were shaking, "You don't even answer the phone! What kind of daughter-in-law is this!"

Luc Kien Quan closed his eyes. He remembered the year before, Tong Tuyet had breast cancer surgery. Where were you at that time? Out at sea. The company organized a "training" trip for middle managers in Bac Hai, essentially a form of vacation. Tong Tuyet discovered breast cancer a week before he left. She told him. He said, this training is very important, related to whether or not he will be promoted next year. She only said one sentence, oh, then go away. So he really left. Played at the beach for five days, posted a bunch of photos to my friends circle. Blue sea with white waves, sandy beach and coral reef. Colleagues all said that Director Luc really knows how to enjoy himself. No one knew, his wife was in the hospital waiting to go on the operating table. On the last day of the training, he received a phone call from his sister Tong Tuyet.

"Luc Kien Quan, Tieu Tuyet has surgery tomorrow, can you come home?"

At that time he was holding a glass of wine, the table was noisy and bustling.

"I can't go back, sister. This side is not finished yet. With you there, I can rest assured."

Tong Tuyet's sister was silent for a long time and then said: "Luc Kien Quan, sooner or later you will regret it." After speaking, hang up the phone. At that time, he only saw that this woman was too presumptuous. Breast cancer surgery, technology is so advanced now, what is there to fear? Now, he lies in the hospital bed, his chest tightening. The phone vibrated once. It's Luc Tu Ngang's Wechat message.

“Dad, I'll try to come home on the weekend, just do the test first.”

There is only this one sentence. Luc Kien Quan stared at the screen, suddenly feeling like his whole body was drained of strength.