The next day, Fang Junjie had planned to take Fu Xiaotang to the hospital to see Song Li, but to his surprise, she refused outright. Her expression was cold and detached, a stark contrast to her near breakdown before. Fang Junjie knew the more she acted this way, the more she cared about Song Li’s fate, not wanting to see him in a bad state. Despite his heavy heart, he did not force her to go.
A few days later, Song Li’s mother and Song Ying unexpectedly showed up at their door. Song Li’s mother, grabbing Fu Xiaotang’s hands, pleaded through tears, “Xiaotang, please do me a favor. I know Li has done many things that have hurt you, but for my sake, could you go see him? The doctors say because of the prolonged oxygen deprivation, his brain cells are dead, and he might never wake up. He’s like trapped in a dark cave, able to hear but unable to respond. It’s so painful for him. If you go and talk to him, he might feel something, or even wake up. Please, help me, I beg you.”
“I don’t want to go,” Fu Xiaotang said weakly, her brows furrowed. She had barely left her room in the past days, eating and sleeping on schedule, yet she had mysteriously lost weight, her chin sharp enough to cut. “I don’t want to see him. Don’t force me!” Song’s mother gazed deeply into Fu Xiaotang’s eyes and said softly, “Xiaotang, Auntie knows you’re a good girl, and Auntie understands why you don’t want to go. But I have no choice. When Song Li was little, I owed him so much. Now, seeing him lying motionless in the hospital bed with tubes all over, do you know how I feel? I really wish I could lie there in his place. I’m not asking for anything else; I just hope you can understand a mother’s suffering. I beg you, I… I’ll kneel down for you.” As she spoke, Song’s mother bent her knees, about to kneel on the ground.
