Chapter 3 — The Light Outside The Door

Two years into my marriage, I was not eating properly. It's normal to paint until dawn and then forget to eat; At the Co family's parties, they had to constantly drink alcohol to entertain guests, mixing cold and hot food, and their stomachs had long since been unable to bear it. It's just that I always try not to say anything. Even if I say it, no one cares. At 3:00 a.m. that morning, I had just finished drawing an urgent order. The moment I stood up, my eyes were dark, my stomach felt like it was stuffed with a handful of cotton soaked in vinegar and squeezed tightly - it was so painful that I collapsed to the floor. Cold sweat drenched my pajamas on my back. I clung to the edge of the tea table, groped for my phone, and called 120. Emergency. Check. Do hospital admission procedures. The whole process was just me. Khuong Nhiem was on a business trip to another province, I didn't tell him. It's not good to call people up in the middle of the night. The nurse asked me who to put in the emergency contact list. I held the pen tightly, trembling slightly. Previously, in that section, I always filled in the name Co Dien Chu. And now... I write the name Khuong Nhiem. On the second day in the hospital, I had a gastric endoscopy. Mild superficial gastric ulcer. The doctor said it's not serious, but it's imperative to eat and drink moderately and not get involved any further. I nodded and said yes. Give fluids, drink medicine. There was only me in the hospital room. Outside the window is the night of Beijing in November, cold and dry, the wind rustling tree branches. I pulled the blanket around me a little tighter. Suddenly I remember a little... No, I don't remember. Don't remember anyone. But fate is something that has never followed my script. I didn't know that Co Dien Chu's phone was still linked to my family's joint medical account. Initially it was to facilitate medical registration, but after the divorce I forgot to cancel the link. That hospitalization notification was accurately pushed to his phone. *”Your family member Tham Nhuoc Diem has undergone hospitalization procedures at XX Hospital.”* According to Lam Tu later recounted —— That evening at 10 o'clock, Co Dien Chu was at a social drinking party. The moment he saw that notification, the wine glass in his hand almost fell down. He stared at the screen for a full 5 seconds. Then he stood up. "Mr. Co?" The person opposite was stunned. He did not explain. I didn't even take my coat, I just kept walking. From the hotel to the hospital, the drive takes 40 minutes. Lam Tu said that on the way that day he received a phone call from Co Dien Chu, the background sound was the roar of an engine. "XX Hospital, inpatient ward. Look up which hospital room Tham Nhuoc Diem is in." "Mr. Co, you've been drinking..." "Look up." Two words. The voice sounded as if it was squeezed out of a broken chest. 10:53 a.m. After I finished giving the fluid, I walked out to use the bathroom and made my way to the nurse's station to get a cup of hot water. The light in the hallway is a white fluorescent light that shines on anyone's face and looks unsightly. I was wearing a baggy hospital gown, my hair was messy, my face was pale, and there was a bleeding cotton pad on the back of my hand because I had just removed the needle. Extremely difficult. Then, I heard rapid footsteps coming from the end of the hallway. The sound of leather shoes stepping on the tile floor, the rhythm was as chaotic as the sound of a heartbeat. I raised my head. At the other end of the hallway, Co Dien Chu was walking towards me with big strides. The black overcoat is gone, only the shirt remains. The sleeves are rolled up to the forearms, the top two buttons are loose. The smell of alcohol was strong and strong, mixed with the coldness of the night wind. His eyes were bloodshot. It's not crying. It was the redness of the brink of collapse under extreme repression. I was stunned. The water in the paper cup spilled out a little. "Co Dien..." I didn't have time to finish my sentence. He walked

come in front of me —— no, rush in front of me.