Chapter 4 — The Last Remaining Echo

Her mother had wept as she sought him out, declaring that Niamh’s condition was too grave and that an immediate journey abroad was imperative. Her father had claimed funds were difficult to manage at the moment, forcing them to temporarily postpone my surgery. At that time, he too had convinced himself that I had already lost hearing in one ear entirely. Whether the operation took place sooner or later seemed to make no real difference. Thus, he had affixed his signature. He had not even dared to speak of it to me. Back then, taking my hand in his, he had promised:

"Shen Wan, I shall be your right ear."

Yet, as it turned out, among those who personally abandoned my right ear, he was numbered as well. Downstairs, the family physician had just finished dressing the wounds on Niamh's hand and was preparing to leave. Upon noticing the spilled blood and shattered glass still uncleaned in the dining room, he froze.

"Where is the eldest young miss?"

The maid replied in a low murmur:

"She has already left."

The doctor's expression shifted drastically.

"The bleeding by her ear could not afford to be delayed."

"If it stimulated the nerves of the left ear, in severe cases, the remaining ear could be affected as well."

The living room instantly plunged into a dead silence. Her mother clutched the wooden banister of the staircase, appearing barely able to stand. Her elder brother, Shen Huai Chuan, lowered his gaze to the bloodstains upon the floor. Those were the traces I had left behind while steadying myself against the wall with every step. From the dining room to the staircase. From the staircase to the bedroom. Thence from the bedroom to the front door. A very faint, very long streak of blood. Yet not a single one of them had noticed. Because at that moment, all of them were gathered in concern around Niamh. Lu Chen ran frantically toward the airport. But by the time he arrived, my flight had long since departed. He stood within the cavernous, echoing terminal, dialing my phone number again and again. Through the earpiece came only the cold, mechanical automated voice.

"The subscriber you have dialed does not exist."

This time, I was not throwing a tantrum. I had truly gone away. Early the next morning, Lu Chen went to the hospital. Clutching those copied documents, he held them as though they were his final scrap of hope. He longed to hear the physician declare that the events of seven years ago had merely been a misunderstanding. He longed to hear the physician state that the success rate of that operation had never been high to begin with. He longed to hear the physician affirm that I still possessed a chance. Yet upon opening the aged medical records, the physician merely furrowed his brow as he looked at him.

"Seven years ago, we repeatedly reminded the family."

"Shen Wan's auditory nerve was not completely necrotic. Had the surgery been performed within three months, the probability of recovery would have been exceedingly high."

"At that time, you signed the risk acknowledgment form, as well as the postponement request."

Lu Chen's voice turned hoarse.

"Postponed... it was not canceled."

The physician gazed at him.

"Regarding nerve rehabilitation, missing the optimal window is tantamount to cancellation."

"Did you not know?"

Lu Chen found himself utterly unable to speak. The physician sighed softly.

"That child was exceptionally cooperative with her treatment back then."

"She asked me whether, after the surgery, she would once again be able to hear the musical accompaniment upon the stage."

"I told her there was still hope."

"She rejoiced for a very long time."

The hands hanging at Lu Chen's sides slowly clenched into fists. Suddenly, he recalled the day I was discharged from the hospital. Seated in the rear of the car, clutching my medical records, I had softly asked him:

"Lu Chen, from now on, will I truly only ever be able to hear with one half?"

How had he responded at the time? He had said:

"Do not overthink things."

"Niamh is also suffering greatly. Must you always make things difficult for everyone?"

As it turned out, I had not been making a fuss over nothing back then. I was genuinely waiting for someone to tell me that I could still be saved. But he had said nothing. Much like everyone else, he chose to save Niamh first. Upon returning to the Shen household, the grand piano still stood in the center of the living room. Its brand-new black lacquer body had been polished to a brilliant shine. Niamh sat beside the instrument, her fingers wrapped in a thin layer of gauze. Her mother was spoon-feeding her porridge. Her father sat nearby, his brow deeply furrowed. Her brother held his phone, continuously contacting the airport and railway stations. No one possessed any news of me. Niamh looked up at Lu Chen with reddened eyes.

"Brother Lu Chen, is my elder sister still angry with me?"

"She traveled alone—will something happen to her?"

In the past, whenever she asked such a question, Lu Chen would invariably hasten to comfort her. But this time, he did not. He merely stared at the piano standing behind her. That instrument had been purchased with the funds intended for my surgery. Suddenly, it appeared blindingly offensive to his eyes. Her mother was still making excuses for Niamh.

"Wan Wan has always been stubborn. In a few days, when her temper cools, she will return."

"She has been like this since childhood, always insisting that everyone revolve around her."

Her elder brother abruptly raised his head.

"Mother."

His voice was exceedingly quiet.

"Do you truly believe she is merely throwing a temper tantrum?"

Her mother froze in astonishment. One by one, her brother cast the documents from the cloud storage archive onto the television screen. Niamh's birthday celebration abroad. Her graduation trip. Scenes of her sitting in an opulent restaurant cutting a cake. Scenes of her clad in expensive ski attire at an exclusive resort. Alongside scenes of her parents singing happy birthday to her over a video call. Most blinding of all was a photograph of Lu Chen appearing backstage at her overseas concert. He stood directly behind Niamh, holding a bouquet of flowers and carrying her coat.