passenger

The final chapter

Qiao Hao went to work as usual, never thought about asking for leave, and couldn't ask for leave.The hospital is still as lively as a vegetable market, the outpatient clinics are overcrowded, and the corridors of the inpatient department are full of extra beds.

After get off work, he went to his mother's ward to take care of her. There were not many things to do, he just poured tea for her, peeled fruits, and read next to her when he was free, and took the book of the doctor.

On the day Shi Dongdong was discharged from the hospital, he did not go to see him off as promised, and he followed the director around the ward all day.

His parents became cautious in front of him, as if it was not him who made the mistake but them. Even Qiao Min restrained himself a lot, acting like a gentle and sensible elder sister, who would occasionally give him some extra meals to take care of his mother in the ward, or " self-made".

Then, finally, my mother was also discharged from the hospital.

"Let's talk." Back home, his father rarely stopped him.

"What do you think now?" Father Qiao closed the door in the room where he lived since childhood.

"Take the exam well, next year I will be promoted to the head of the hospital..."

"I don't mean that."

"At that time, I have to work 24 hours a day, six days a week. I don't have time to think about other things." Qiao Hao lowered his head, not daring to look into his father's eyes.But as a doctor, he felt that his answer was very realistic.

"Don't you really think that living the same life as most people is a kind of happiness?" Father Qiao shook his head when he said this, apparently already not expecting Qiao Hao's answer.

"I feel... not only happiness, but also luck."

"So you're not going to live a normal life in the future?"

"I've been living a normal life."

"So we don't have to worry about you, do we?"

Father Qiao picked up his teacup and took a sip, which was slightly bitter.

"Dad, don't worry..." Qiao Hao stood up straight, "I will live a good life. How can a person who has been staying in the hospital not cherish his life?"

Father Qiao nodded and said nothing more.Why did the son become like this?He asked himself that he was not given an environment and treatment different from others since he was a child, maybe everything was born?This son has always been the pride of the couple. Whether he passed the high school and college entrance examinations during his studies, or he inherited his father's career as a doctor after work, he is healthy and independent, and he is more worry-free than the eldest daughter.

Perhaps, the care that children deserve is also conserved. When I was a child, I was less troubled, but now I have to worry more.Father Qiao looked at his son in front of him and could only nod in compromise.

"Don't push yourself too hard, the work in the hospital is very hard, you need to rest more." He spoke earnestly, marking the end of this conversation.

Qiao Hao's family believe that time is the best healer, and they kept silent about the missing Shi Dongdong, as if he had never appeared in Qiao Hao's apartment to have dinner with his mother, never appeared in the Qiao Min's South Music Troupe watched their performances... That handsome and cheerful boy has never had an intersection with their lives, and never will.

And Qiao Hao seemed to be accepting Shi Dongdong's departure.If it were an ordinary love, it would probably only last for three or four months. One of the parties went overseas because of the future, and the distance gradually grew, and the two gradually forgot each other from then on.He and Shi Dongdong didn't even start.When he comforts himself like this, it is usually when Qiao Hao is so busy with work that he starts to hate the world.

Besides, he couldn't even think about that person at all.

There seemed to be shadows of that man everywhere in the hospital, wearing a gray wool cap, leaning against the wall because of his limited strength, looking at him idly.Qiao Hao always had this hallucination when he was on the night shift. That person was really the same as before, just at the door of the duty room, and when he was found, he smiled defiantly.It's just that in Qiao Hao's mind, that face has become more and more blurred.

There is only one photo of Shi Dongdong in the mobile phone, it is when I went to the concert, I took a photo of Faye Wong on the stage and took a photo of the people around me. The face is focused and serious.

I can only recall the person's appearance from this side face.

Every day after get off work, Qiao Hao rode a bicycle, and would deliberately go around in a circle and leave from the main entrance of the hospital.He deliberately didn't go home through the closer back door, because there was a small garden there, and there was a bench in the garden, and it was there that he reunited with that person.Even now, when he was working the night shift in the duty room, he would often see that bench and the people sitting on it in his sleepy dreams.That person grew thick black hair again, that person was wearing a snow-white shirt, and that person was looking at him with eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and he didn't speak, just waiting for him to look at him...

The days passed like this, and a year passed in a blink of an eye.

It was spring again, and the garden of the hospital regained its spring vibe, and Qiao Hao no longer deliberately detoured the main entrance, but the figure he remembered never appeared on the small bench in the garden.

Familiar people met a few.Once, when Qiao Hao was off work, he saw an old woman wandering in the garden. Even though her hair was all white, he recognized her as a bald mother at a glance.That was the first time in a long time that he met someone related to Shi Dongdong.

"Auntie, do you still remember me?" He pushed his bicycle and chased after him. The words he said seemed to save himself who had been indulging in dreams. Yes, the long period of time in the past was not just his. A dreamlike self-deception.

The woman turned her head, her eyes slowly gathered light, "Ah, you are the friend of Shi Dongdong in Xiaogang's ward, you are a doctor, right?"

Qiao Hao took a deep breath. After a long time, he heard that name from someone else.

"Yes, it's me. My name is Qiao Hao. How are you doing now? Are you feeling better?"

"It's still the same, always coughing, so Xiaogang thinks I'm noisy." The old man lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly.

"Xiao Gang?..." Qiao Hao remembered the bald head's name, which seemed to be Yuan Gang.When he thought of Yuan Gang, he thought of that day when Shi Dongdong hugged him, crying and asking "Why, why did he do this...".The real person in his arms was trembling with weakness and fear, he remembered that he kissed him deeply, and then he slowly calmed down.

His thoughts drifted away in the blink of an eye, Qiao Hao came back to his senses, and reluctantly prepared to say goodbye to the old woman, but found that the other party was still talking non-stop.

"...I came to help Xiaogang get his medicine, but he had finished all his medicine. If he didn't get his medicine, he would just keep talking about me. Alas, there's nothing I can do."

"Aunt..." Qiao Hao's heart sank involuntarily, so he could only follow the old man's words, "Yuan Gang... is he better?"

"It's much better, and the headache doesn't hurt much now. It's just that he has a bad temper, and he is a big boss without a serious job, so he always hums at home, but who made him a patient... I won't tell you more, I won't go back , he has to yell again."

Qiao Hao looked at the back of the old woman leaving, and once again suspected that he was still in a dream.

The second person was Molly. To be precise, the other party asked him to meet here—to tell him the good news of his success in the postgraduate entrance examination.

"The results I got yesterday are actually not very satisfactory. They are the adjusted schools and majors." Molly was wearing a light green jumper, which collided with the new green shoots on the treetops. As before, healthy and alive.

However, Qiao Hao discovered that she was also much more mature.

"In September, I should be going to report to the new school, not in this city..." Molly said, looking up at him, "Mr. Qiao, thank you."

"I should congratulate you. In fact, you have nothing to thank me for."

"If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be able to make up my mind to take the postgraduate entrance examination. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be so focused on studying later..." Molly hesitated to speak, no longer as carefree and heartless as before. Think of what to say.

"Should I still study clinical medicine? Have you decided on the direction?" Qiao Hao tried to find topics in the small garden where people came and went, making it seem like they were just chatting between ordinary friends.

"Oncology." Molly replied, and glanced at Qiao Hao.

"Well, this direction is good, and it is easier to produce results." Qiao Hao smiled, pretending to be nonchalant.

"I always wanted to apply for internal medicine, but...in the end I chose tumor." The girl lowered her head and pursed her lips. "I told him about Shi Dongdong's condition. Teacher Qiao, I'm sorry...I was wrong."

Qiao Hao didn't speak, he didn't know what to say, he was not qualified to accept or forgive this apology.

"How is he now?" Molly asked hesitantly.

Qiao Hao shook his head, "I don't know..."

"Did you not contact me again later?"

Qiao Hao still just shook his head.

"That day, he was discharged from the oncology department. I followed the directors to send him off. I thought you would go too..." Molly kept her head down, sitting on the bench, twisting her hands on her knees. got together.

Qiao Hao suddenly wanted to end this conversation right away. If that person came back at this time and saw them on the bench, would he have misunderstood them?

However, he really wanted to hear what Molly had to say.

"He was very weak, but he still insisted on walking. An aunt supported him, and Mr. Shi walked beside him. When they said goodbye to the director, I heard that the plane would fly to the United States the next day... the director told him Shi Dongdong must pay attention to rest, saying that the long-distance flight is very hard... So, he went to the United States for surgery, right?"

Qiao Hao shook his head, he knew nothing about the operation or the result of the operation.

"He finally... smiled at me. That smile made me feel sad, like saying goodbye... But I obviously treated him like that before. Teacher Qiao, do you really have no news about him?" Molly sucked He took a deep breath and looked at Qiao Hao sadly.

"No news is good news." Qiao Hao reluctantly opened his mouth, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

"But you..." The girl's eyes were full of doubts, and she wanted to ask, but she finally shut up.The people around her had already stood up and held out their hands to her.

"School is going well, take good care of yourself in a strange city!"

"I hope you can get news about that person as soon as possible." Molly said in her heart.

In May, Qiao Min married herself.One day at the dinner table, she suddenly announced the news of her marriage, which shocked her parents for a long time.

Qiao Hao felt that this was in line with Qiao Min's style, and at the same time felt relieved - after all, the two children in this family are not as miserable as the adults think, and the other one is a happy family.

The new brother-in-law does not engage in art, he is a middle-aged businessman who is slightly overweight, he is sincere to Qiao Min, the wedding ceremony is grand, not like a second marriage at all, the bride is wearing a pure white wedding dress, and looks as happy as a girl.

Qiao Hao sat in the corner, looking at his sister, vaguely remembering the excitement when she took her to the South Orchestra for the second time to meet the Sanxian teacher, as if it had been a long, long time ago.Then, he couldn't help but think of the situation when he went to the South Orchestra for the third time.That time, he met Shi Dongdong who had been missing for many days in the park where the orchestra was located.

When memory comes up, it must be suppressed by external force.At this time, Qiao Hao only had wine by his side.My sister was newly married, so it shouldn't be considered impolite for my brother to drink, so he picked up the glass and took a sip of himself.

Someone patted him behind him at this moment.

"Hello, Doctor Qiao!"

Qiao Hao turned around, his eyes widened suddenly, the person who called him was Huo Yan.

"you……"

"You should still remember me." Huo Yan smiled, and motioned Qiao Hao to chat beside him.

"I didn't expect to see you here. Ren and I are always friends, and I received the wedding invitation from him." The man was wearing a suit, holding his wine glass casually, even standing in the corner of the hall full of guests, still It is presence that attracts attention.Qiao Hao stood beside him, feeling very uncomfortable. Even the words in his mouth took a while to remember who "Mr. Ren" was. He almost forgot the name of his new brother-in-law.

"But I have seen your sister's performance, she is a very good artist." And Huo Yan continued, as if he and Qiao Hao were just ordinary acquaintances, and they needed to greet each other when they met.

But after all, Qiao Hao could feel that the other party wasn't out for the small talk, and the small talk was just a foreshadowing.

"You mean the time Dongdong sat behind you?" Qiao Hao's tone was indifferent, but after saying this, he felt a faint pain in his heart. How long had it been before he said the person's name from his mouth.

Huo Yan finally stopped talking, looked at the wine glass in his hand silently for a while, and finally asked after a long time, "How is Dongdong now?"

"Are you asking me?" Qiao Hao became sullen. Before Huo Yan asked this question, he was still worried whether he would get any good news or bad news about Shi Dongdong from this person.

"After you came to me with him that time, I never heard from him again..." Huo Yan closed his eyes, with a hint of pain in his expression.

"That day was also the last time I saw him." Qiao Hao suppressed, but at this moment the smell of the wine that he had swallowed rose up.

"Last time?" Huo Yan's eyes flashed with despair.

"It's just me! The last time I saw him!" Qiao Hao shouted angrily, causing the guests at the nearest table to turn and look at him.Fortunately, there were many and mixed guests at the wedding, and everyone didn't know each other.

Huo Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was not relaxed, "I always thought...you would be by his side."

Qiao Hao could only sneer, "The last time I was by his side was to accompany him to find you."

"I think you may have some misunderstanding." Huo Yan frowned slowly, and he looked at Qiao Hao, with a complex look in his eyes that Qiao Hao didn't understand, "The time he went to find me, he asked me to help him Get in touch with organ donation."

Qiao Hao's mind went blank for a moment.

"He called me in advance because he knew that I was involved in organizing the relief fund for children with congenital heart disease. He said...he thought he could do something meaningful," Huo Yan lowered his voice, as if he needed to Digesting his mood, he said after a while, "I contacted the Organ Donation Management Center for him. That day, in my office, there were not only the two of us, but also people from the Organ Donation Management Center. He signed a contract with them. Donation agreement... I have contacted those people to find out if there is any news about Dongdong, but they keep all information about the donor confidential. You will not understand my feelings at the time, he did not do this through his family , but begging for my help."

Qiao Hao didn't speak, and only the scene of Shi Dongdong coming out of Huo Yan's office that day flashed before his eyes, to be precise, the scene of coming out of the elevator. That day, because of jealousy, he didn't even accompany him upstairs.The man smiled so calmly, as if what he did would not make the people around him unhappy. He also said that it was lucky that he didn't go for radiotherapy, otherwise his face was covered with spots and he would be embarrassed to see Huo Yan.

Qiao Hao felt a sudden pain in his heart. Is the donation a heart?Because of An Ning's matter, did he say that he was just a pampered young master?Fortunately, there is no radiotherapy, is it because the organs are not damaged?That's right, the original brain tumor can be used for organ transplantation... so he was ready to die at that time?

"This kind of thing will not be done through family members, because I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable, and I won't do it through the closest people, because it is a kind of cruelty to the other party... I think it is because of this that he asked me. To him, I am not that important anymore." Huo Yan's expression was complicated, his eyes fell on an unknown place, he didn't know if it was regret, sadness, or just emptiness and helplessness, after finishing speaking, he looked at Qiao Hao, "Didn't he mention it to you?"

"No." Qiao Hao shook his head, feeling a little bit depressed in his heart.

On the stage, the master of ceremonies has already started to preside over the wedding ceremony. The couple was asked to confess their relationship experiences amusingly. She looked towards Qiao Hao as if inductive, and when she saw her son's expression clearly, the smile slowly froze on her face.