In the corridor outside the operating room of the First Municipal Hospital, the sharp smell of disinfectant hung thick in the air. Jiang Yi sat alone on a cold plastic bench, the surgery consent form in his hand already crumpled from how tightly he had gripped it. When he had signed his name earlier, he had felt the weight of the pen for the first time… it was more than just a signature. It was a responsibility tied to life and death.
“Family members, please wait here.” The nurse took the form, her gaze sweeping around him before pausing. “Are you here alone?”
Jiang Yi nodded lightly without explaining. The operating room doors slowly closed before him, and the red “In Surgery” light flicked on, like a cold, indifferent eye.
The corridor was far from quiet.
Across from him sat a young couple. The wife leaned against her husband’s shoulder, sobbing softly, while he gently patted her back and whispered words of comfort. Not far away, a middle-aged man hurriedly called home to reassure the elders, his tone anxious yet full of care. Further down, a large family sat together, passing around hot water and food.
Only Jiang Yi remained by himself, utterly alone.
He suddenly remembered three years ago, when his father had undergone heart stent surgery in this same hospital. Back then, Shu Jin had stayed by his side, holding his hand through the entire night. At early dawn, she had quietly gone out to buy hot porridge and fed him spoonful by spoonful. She had said then, “Don’t be afraid. Your parents are my parents too. I’ll always stay with you.”
Now, his mother’s life hung in the balance inside the operating room… and the person who had once promised to stand by him through everything had chosen to stay in a hotel room with another man.
The night grew deeper.
Families in the corridor came and went in waves. At one point, an elderly woman noticed him sitting alone for so long and kindly handed him an orange. “Young man, have something to eat.”
Jiang Yi forced a faint smile and accepted it, placing it beside him. Under the pale hospital lights, the bright orange fruit looked striking… like the warmth of moments he could never return to.
He took out his phone. The screen was empty. No missed calls. No new messages.
Shu Jin hadn’t even sent a single text to ask about her mother-in-law’s condition.
At 3:00 a.m., the operating room door suddenly opened.
Jiang Yi shot to his feet, only to realize it was a doctor from the adjacent operating room. He turned to the young couple and said, “The surgery was successful. It’s a boy, 3.15 kilograms.”
Cheers and sobs broke out at the same time. The couple embraced and cried, while their relatives gathered around to offer congratulations. The joy of new life spread through the corridor… making Jiang Yi’s loneliness stand out even more starkly.
He sat back down and closed his eyes.
Memories flooded his mind uncontrollably… Shu Jin nervously rubbing her hands when she first met his parents; his mother patiently teaching her how to make dumplings; every New Year’s Eve, she would prepare thick red envelopes for his parents, saying she was fulfilling filial duties on behalf of him, the son who didn’t know how to express himself…
So all that warmth… could vanish in an instant.
As the sky began to lighten, the operating room doors finally opened again.
The attending doctor removed his mask, a tired smile on his face. “The surgery was successful. The patient is out of danger.”
Jiang Yi let out a long breath, only then realizing his clenched fists had gone stiff.
His mother was wheeled out, still under anesthesia. Her face was pale, her breathing faint. He followed the stretcher all the way to the ward, watching as the nurses skillfully set up the monitoring equipment.
The single room was quiet, filled only with the steady beeping of machines.
Jiang Yi poured warm water and used a cotton swab to gently moisten his mother’s cracked lips. The simple action reminded him of the first time Shu Jin had been hospitalized… he had stayed by her bedside just like this, not daring to close his eyes the entire night.
Back then, she had held his hand and said, “When we grow old, if you fall sick, I’ll take care of you like this too.”
Her words still echoed in his ears… yet everything had already changed.
Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting thin полосы of light across his mother’s face. Jiang Yi gently tucked the blanket around her, his movements tender, as if handling something fragile. Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.
At that moment, something inside him suddenly became clear.
Love could decay. Promises could turn to nothing. But the bond of blood… that was the one thing that would never waver. The sight of his mother lying weakly on the hospital bed hurt him far more than any betrayal ever could.
He took out his phone and deleted every way of contacting Shu Jin. The sweet photos in his gallery, the affectionate conversations in their chat history… all of it vanished with a few taps of his fingers.
When the last photo… a seaside picture from some past date… disappeared from the screen, Jiang Yi felt an unfamiliar calm settle over him. Like pulling out a rotten tooth… there was a hollow left behind, but the unbearable pain was gone.
Outside the window, the sun was rising. A new day had begun.
Jiang Yi stood by the window, watching the city awaken in the morning light. The struggle and pain in his eyes were gone, replaced by a cold, iron-like resolve.
In that moment, the Jiang Yi who had once been consumed by love died completely.
What remained was the helmsman of Hengyao Group… the only son of his parents… a man who would never again be swayed by emotion.
He returned to the bedside and gently held his mother’s hand. Even in her sleep, she seemed to sense it, her fingers twitching faintly.
“Mom, get better soon,” he said softly. “From now on, I’ll stay by your side… and Dad’s.”
This was both a promise… and a farewell.
A farewell to his naive, foolish self. A farewell to that broken, tattered marriage. A farewell to every unworthy sacrifice and expectation.
Sunlight gradually filled the ward. Jiang Yi stood there, his figure tall and steady within the light and shadow.
His heart had never been this calm… and never this resolute.